


Kingdom of Demons

by moonboy_writes



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 3 part series, Apollo (nickname), Demons, Gay, Gay Male Character, Hyacinthus (nickname), I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idris (Shadowhunter Chronicles), M/M, Mentions of Sebastian (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Nicknames, Parabatai, Pining, Post-Book Series: The Mortal Instruments, References to the Dark War, References to the Mortal War, Series, Set Before TDA, Set after TMI, Tentacles...I guess, Vampires, Warlocks, Werewolves, alleys, mentions of Clary/Jace, mentions of alec/magnus, seriously i pulled four all-nighters for this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:22:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28312302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonboy_writes/pseuds/moonboy_writes
Summary: Theo, Erelah, Victoria, and Zachary must investigate an alarming increase in demonic activity, meanwhile Theo and Zachary must navigate their relationship (or lack thereof) and Victoria struggles to hide a dark secret that could have grave consequences. Their investigation will lead them into a danger that no one could've prepared for.
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter One: Unexpected

# Part One: Broken Promises & Secrets Kept  
  


## Chapter One: Unexpected

Newark, New Jersey

July 2010

Newark was a city that saw little demon activity. Most of the demons headed for New York, with it being so close, but over the last two weeks, more and more demons seemed to be appearing. Tonight, the demons were moving together, two positioned in each cardinal direction, with one at the center. They were each identical in their movements, crawling along on six black, mucilaginous tentacles, and the remaining two raised slightly in the air as if they were supposed to be their arms. The demons moved with purpose, as if they were in a hurry to get somewhere. The one standing in the middle somewhere as fast as they could. Theo Beaugrove stepped out of his hiding place and launched one of the throwing knives from his belt. It struck one of the demons in the side, releasing a screech from it. All nine of them turned on Theo and raised their tentacles. The demons were almost blob-shaped with no eyes, mouths, or noses. Theo wasn’t quite sure what kind of demons they were, he’d never seen them before.

Theo’s hand defaulted to the hilt of his shortsword, a fancy-looking blade, the core of the blade made of iron and the runes of the Nephilim lined its core, the edges of the blade were pure electrum, and its decorated hilt made of copper. The pommel was a crimson red color that Theo often felt was watching him, and every so often he wondered if there was really a demon trapped inside the orb. He pulled the sword, and the demons seemed to recoil just a little, like they knew what Theo knew. _This sword is going to be legendary._

From the other end of the alley, something whizzed through the air and struck one demon in the side. Like the one Theo hit with his throwing knife, it screeched, and the demons all turned. On the opposite side of the alley was Erelah Stillwood, her hair looking like gold in the moonlight. She pulled two seraph blades from her belt and named them, calling one “ _Cassiel,”_ and the other, _“Lailah.”_ The _adamas_ blades flared to life, and the demons recoiled even more. On her left arm, underneath all her gear, Theo knew was her _parabatai_ rune, the same way she knew that under his gear, his _parabatai_ rune was sitting on his right forearm.

Two more demons screeched as silver arrows buried themselves in what Theo assumed— _hoped_ —was their heads. Then, like an Angel falling from grace, Victoria Hayrun landed on the pavement, with her beautiful black recurve bow and two more arrows already nocked in the string. Her short black hair settled around her shoulders elegantly, and the silver rings on her hands glittered. The demons didn’t seem to know what to do, as if they hadn’t expected to be caught.

Almost like a bell had gone off, the Shadowhunters and the demons broke out into a battle.

Two of the demons were already swinging on Theo, he dove over one tentacle swinging towards his legs and rolled under one swinging for his head. He came up on his knees and slashed upwards with his sword, severing the tip of a tentacle and resulting in a loud screech from the demon who’d lost it. Theo was on his feet by the time it swung again, and ducked under it, driving his sword into the moving appendage, and running along its length, using his sword to tear through its flesh. He swung again, this time slashing through the demon’s body, and it folded in on itself before winking out of existence. Theo turned and caught sight of Erelah, swinging her seraph blades wildly and with skill, making quick work of one demon.

Suddenly Theo was yanked into the air, a tentacle wrapping around his ankle and dangling him upside down. He curled his body upward and sliced through it with his sword. As he fell, he twisted and landed on his feet.

“Theo, you good?” Victoria asked as she fired two more arrows into shrieking demons.

“I’m alive if that’s what you’re asking,” He said, and twisted to throw another knife into a demon coming up behind him. Before Theo could finish off the demon, Erelah shouted, and something felt like it had slapped against the left side of Theo’s body. He whipped his head around and caught sight of Erelah, scrambling to her feet as one of the tentacle demons brought its arm down over her head. She dove into a graceful roll and came up slashing out with her seraph blades. The demon shrieked before folding in on itself and winking out of existence.

Theo charged across the alley towards Erelah. He got about half-way to her when a demon slithered in and blocked him off, raising all its tentacles like a wall. Quickly, Theo verged left, and used the wall as a springboard to launch himself upwards and brought his sword down and through the demon’s body.

“Show off!” Victoria called out as she fired another arrow.

Theo twirled his sword in his hand, “I don’t have to show off for you.”

“If I ever see a tentacle again,” Erelah grumbled as Theo caught up to her, “it’ll be too soon.”

A demon slithered towards Theo as he said, “Yeah, tell me about it.” He lunged, stabbing forward with his sword into the gut of the demon, and pulled along the width of its body, killing it.

Victoria, on the other side of the alley, fired one last volley of arrows into the last demon and sighed, “Thank the Angel.”

Theo wiped as much ichor as he could off of his sword, and sheathed it, “So, anyone gonna ask why there are so many demons around lately?”

Erelah pulled out her stele, a long wand-like piece of _adamas_ , and quickly Marked herself with a rune.

“I could’ve done that,” Theo said, pulling out his stele. Theo’s stele was a family heirloom, and looked much more decorated than other stele, which for the most part were just long pieces of _adamas_ and marked with the Angel’s runes. Emerald green vines that matched Theo’s eyes, wrapped around the length of his stele, and converged at the bottom and coiled around the tip.

“Theo,” Erelah said, her hazel eyes wild, “I am perfectly capable of Marking myself. If I’m dying, you’re free to Mark me yourself.”

Victoria rolled her eyes, “You two remind me every day why I don’t have a _parabatai_.”

Erelah folded her arms and frowned, but Theo was the one to speak, “You don’t have a _parabatai_ because no one wants to be permanently bonded with you.”

Victoria shook her head, “Whatever, let’s keep moving. I would like to get some sleep, eventually.”

“I second that,” Erelah said, “besides, I have a new comic to read.”

“I don’t know why you bother with those, Rae,” Victoria said as they walked down the alley, “We do way cooler, _and more realistic_ stuff than a guy who shoots ropes out of his hands.”

“Webs,” Erelah corrected her, “Spider-Man shoots webs, and I don’t even read Spider-Man.”

“Yeah, she reads Doctor Strange.” Theo added.

Erelah looked up at him and gave him an encouraging smile, and he returned it. Theo wasn’t tall by men’s standards, but even at his height, he still towered over Erelah. She was small and compact and excelled at hide and seek when they were kids.

“What kind of name is Doctor Strange?” Victoria asked, “So they’re a doctor and they’re strange?”

“Well, no—” Erelah kept talking, but Theo wasn’t really listening anymore. He looked up at the stars and watched them twinkle for a moment.

Erelah pushed Theo lightly, “Come on, Spaz, at least try to pay attention,”

Theo blinked at looked from Erelah to Victoria, “Sorry, what?”

“We’re playing Would You Rather,” Victoria said. Theo wasn’t sure where she’d learned this game, but she was obsessed, and they played it almost every night. Theo never liked the game much, and always grew bored quickly, but Erelah didn’t seem to mind. “I asked you, would you rather become a Silent Brother, or an Iron Sister.”

“I can’t become an Iron Sister,” Theo said, “I’m not a girl.”

Victoria sighed, “Imagination Theo. Use your imagination.”

Theo replied with a sigh of his own, “I guess a Silent Brother,” He said, “I’d like to know the runes they have access to.”

Erelah shuddered, “Silent Brothers are creepy.”

“When have you ever met a Silent Brother Rae?” Victoria asked, “You’ve barely ever left the Institute.”

Erelah crossed her arms, “It’s not like we had to go to the City of Bones for our _parabatai_ ceremony,” She said, glancing at Theo, “And it’s not like they were swarming Alicante after Sebastian attacked or anything.” During the Dark War, Sebastian Morgenstern had commanded an army of demonically aligned Shadowhunters that was allied with the Faeries, and attacked Alicante, the home city of all Shadowhunters. Theo, Erelah, and Victoria had all been there. They were just thirteen and had been herded into the Accords Hall with the other children while the adult Shadowhunters laid traps for the Faeries. In the end, the Endarkened broke into the Accords Hall, and it was chaos. Theo and Erelah still had nightmares about it, but Victoria didn’t seem to have any dreams anymore.

Victoria fell silent for a moment, and Theo could tell Erelah was about to apologize, but Victoria snapped back to herself, “Well, I’d hate to be a Silent Brother. Have you seen those robes they wear? They’re ugly.”

“I bet Theo could pull them off,” Erelah said.

“Rae, _no one_ pulls those robes off.” Victoria replied.

Theo sighed, “You two are ridiculous.”

The Newark Institute had been untouched during the Dark War, which Theo was grateful for. When the Shadowhunters had all retreated to Idris, he’d left his stele behind and he would’ve been devastated if it’d gotten lost, stolen, or broken. The Institute was glamoured to mundane to look like an old, abandoned warehouse, but in reality, it was a grand church, with three floors, an attic, and enough space to house at least twenty Shadowhunters. Only four Shadowhunters lived in the Institute, especially after the Dark War had devastated the Nephilim numbers. Now most adult Shadowhunters were out in the world, fixing the damage that Sebastian had done.

The iron fence that surrounded the Institute was taller than Theo and concealed most of the front of the Institute. The gate, adorned with the Angelic rune, swung open effortlessly when Theo and the girls approached. They strolled into the hallway that led into the lounge area (which Theo always saw as more of a living room) of the Institute. The entire first floor of the Institute was empty save for the various furniture that decorated the lounge. The walls were covered with weapons hanging on plaques, both decorative and real, even more real ones since the Dark War, and Theo’s father insisted on keeping every room stocked in case they were ever ambushed. Theo’s father, and the Head of the Newark Institute, was probably upstairs in his office.

“I’ll go report to my dad,” Theo said, “I’ll talk to him about sending a message to New York, see if they know anything about the increased demon activity.”

Erelah nodded, and ran a disgusted hand through her hair, “I’ll have to shower at least three times to feel clean again.”

“I hear you,” Victoria said, grabbing the railing of the staircase. Theo had asked for an elevator since he was twelve, but Theo’s dad never agreed.

“We’ll reconvene in the kitchen afterwards for a snack?” Erelah asked. Victoria and Theo nodded, and together, the three of them scaled the stairs, until Theo broke off on the second floor. The staircase opened up into the kitchen which was really just a counter with a couple cupboards, a sink, and a fridge and a large empty linoleum space that was only occupied by an oak dining table with several matching chairs sat around it. Behind that was a couple of rooms. One of them was the library, and another was the Head of the Institute’s office.

Theo’s father was sitting at the desk in the office, positioned in front of the stained-glass window, looking over papers. Thomas Beaugrove, like Theo, was not tall for his age. He was a well-built man, and his biceps looked like they were almost too big for the sleeves of his t-shirt. Theo never understood why, but Thomas always kept a little bit of scruff, never enough to call it a beard, but too much to be called clean shaven. His eyes weren’t green like Theo’s, they were a warm brown color.

“You’re back,” Thomas said, standing up, “How’d it go?”

Theo sighed, “There were a lot of tentacles. And I mean a _lot_.”

“More demons?”  
Theo nodded, “I’m getting worried. These demons were obviously going somewhere, and they were very upset that we interfered.”

Thomas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Okay, I’ll send a message to Maryse Lightwood,”

“Thanks dad.”

Thomas sat back down and nodded again, “I’m glad you’re not dead Theodore.”

“Me too.”

Theo turned and made his way up to the third floor. The entire floor was dedicated to bedrooms, each one with its own bathroom. Doors and decorative art pieces lined the walls. A mural of the Angel Raziel had been painted on floor, according to Theo’s dad, his mother had been the one to paint it. Theo's always liked that the tip of the Mortal Sword pointed directly at Theo’s room. He crossed the floor, glancing at Erelah and Victoria’s rooms—the doors were closed, and he could hear the showers running—and slid past his door into the room.

It looked the same as he’d left it, his bed was pushed against the window because he liked to look at the sky. A decorative longsword was hanging above his dresser on the opposite wall. The dresser’s drawers had been left hanging open, with jeans, socks, and underwear sticking out. His bed was a mess, but Theo never really saw the appeal in making his bed. He headed for the bathroom and peeled off his gear.

Hot water rained down over Theo’s back, and the steam that filled the room was oddly comforting. Theo rolled his shoulders a few times, relaxing them as he turned around and let the water pour down on his chest.

Theo scrubbed his body once, and then again, and once more for good measure, before stepping out and wrapping a towel around his waist. He stood in the mirror, wiping a small circle clear of the steam that clung to it, and looked at himself. His eyelashes were wet, but the green underneath showed brilliantly, and his brown hair stuck to his forehead. He ran his hand through it a couple times, and once he found it acceptable, he ran the towel over his body.

He headed for his dresser, grabbed out a pair of comfortable sweats, and headed down to the kitchen. He passed Erelah’s room; the door was open now and the room empty. The water in Victoria’s room was still on, which Theo wasn’t surprised at, and he shook his head a little as he reached the staircase.

Erelah was sitting in the dining room in the kitchen with Thomas, who was standing over a pot of boiling water on the stove. He grabbed a box of dairy-free macaroni and cheese out of the cupboard and poured the noodles into the water. Most of the food they ate around the Institute was dairy free and had been for years. Erelah was lactose intolerant and eating non-lactose free dairy took her out of commission for hours at a time, and through the _parabatai_ bond, made Theo very uncomfortable (it was worse when Erelah was having her time of the month, but _iratze_ runes made it more manageable).

“You feel all nice and clean?” Thomas asked as Theo went to sit beside Erelah.

“I mean yeah,” Theo replied, “As much as you can feel clean after almost being tentacled to death.”

Erelah scoffed, “Come on, you loved it. I saw you being overdramatic with that one demon. Leaping in the air and slicing it in half like something out of a—”

“If you say, ‘something straight out of a comic book,’ I’m going to strangle you.” Theo said.

“Something straight out of a comic book.” Erelah said with a wicked grin on her face. She looked at Theo and he could see his reflection in her hazel-colored irises, “What? I thought you were gonna strangle me. Come at me, bro!”

Thomas sighed and spoke in a monotone voice, “Theo, you may not strangle Erelah; Erelah please do not antagonize Theo. You two are supposed to be _parabatai_ , strangling each other is a big no-no.”

“So, what you’re saying is…” Erelah said.

“We can strangle Victoria?”

“You can try,” Victoria’s voice came from the bottom of the stairs, where she was standing in a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a white tank top. There was a towel around her head, which Theo didn’t think her hair was long enough to need a towel around her head, but he didn’t say that out loud.

“We’ll do it when you’re sleeping.” Erelah announced.

Victoria laughed and took a seat at the table, “Again, you can try.”

Theo and Erelah exchanged a glance.

“No one is strangling anyone,” Thomas said as he came over with bowls of steaming mac and cheese and set one down in front of every one of them, “And now that you’re all here, I have some news.”

“Oh god you’ve secretly been dating a hot young blonde woman and you got her pregnant,” Erelah blurted out. Everyone’s eyes turned on her and Theo raised an eyebrow.

“What is that where you went to?”

Erelah looked Theo dead in the eyes, “He’s a lonely old man Theo, they _always_ get hot young women pregnant.”

“Why blonde?” Victoria asked.

Erelah lowered her head and ran a hand through her hair, “Blonde hair is a curse.”

“Erelah, no one is pregnant— _hopefully_ ,” Thomas shot a glance at Victoria, who raised her hands in surrender.

“I don’t think Theo’s gonna be getting me pregnant anytime soon,” She said, “and in case you haven’t noticed, there aren’t any other boys around here.”

Thomas shook his head, “We’re getting off track—”

“Were we ever _on_ track?” Erelah asked.

“We have a new Nephilim staying with us,” Thomas said, and before anyone could open their mouths, he held up his hand, “before you all get excited, he’s very jetlagged, he came all the way from Alicante, so he’s upstairs resting. You can all meet him tomorrow.”

“What’s his name?” Erelah asked, “I bet it’s something fancy like _Corentin le Joli Garçon_.”

Victoria raised her eyebrow, “Corentin the Pretty Boy?”  
Erelah shrugged and took a bite of her macaroni and cheese.

Thomas shook his head, “I’ll let him introduce himself in the morning, finish eating and get to bed, it’s almost midnight.”

“We’re not children, dad,” Theo said.

“Speak for yourself,” Erelah told him, and made airplane noises as she brought her fork to her mouth.

Victoria, Erelah, and Thomas had all gone up to bed, but Theo had grabbed a new book before he went upstairs. In the last year or so, he’d become very invested in Nephilim history, and had been reading the (limited) books in the Institute’s library on the subject. He found an older edition of the Codex from the 1800s and tucked it under his arm while he scaled the staircase back to his room.

All the doors in the hallway of bedrooms were closed—except for two. One was Theo’s, and the other was on the opposite side from the girl’s rooms. Thomas’s room was at the end of the hall closet to the staircase, so Theo concluded that the new Shadowhunter was probably in the room with the open door. Light poured from the doorway and cast a line across the hall.

When Theo reached the doorway, he poked his head in, “Knock knock,” Theo said as he knocked on the door, “Hello?” He stepped into the room and looked around for a moment before being crushed against someone’s body.

Theo knew who it was just from the way the person smelled, but still the voice that spoke shocked him, “Hey Hyacinthus, did you miss me?”


	2. Days Past: A Silverguard and a Beaugrove

Alicante, Idris

December 2007

Alicante was chaos. Nephilim were pouring out of the Portal in the Gard and spilling into the city. There was a lot of crying, and a lot of white, the color of mourning for Shadowhunters. Theo knew the basics of what was happening, Sebastian Morgenstern was invading Institutes, ripping Shadowhunters from their home and turning them into Endarkened—evil Shadowhunters. The Inquisitor had called a retreat of every Nephilim, all over the world. Theo’s dad was worried about demons and Downworlders taking advantage of the situation to cause chaos, but Erelah’s parents had convinced him they could fix the damage after the Nephilim dealt with Sebastian.

Erelah and her parents had gone off to the Stillwood’s house, and Theo was wandering through the city trying to find them. Thomas had told him not to leave the house, but surely that didn’t apply to him going to see his _parabatai_ -to-be. Right?

Theo hadn’t been to Alicante before, his dad had shown him pictures when he was little, but in-person it was astonishing. Most notably were the spiring glass-like _adamas_ Demon Towers, that Theo knew at night would light up the city with witchlight. Right now, they were sparkling where the sun was hitting them, the light reflecting off them and down onto the streets of the city. The buildings in Alicante, mostly made of gold and honey-colored stones with red tile roofs were stacked up the hill, almost in layers, all leading up to Gard at the top. Several shallow canals ran through the entire city, and Theo noticed several bridges that crossed over them.

Theo directed his attention away from the stunning beauty of his home country and looked around for the Stillwood house. He wasn’t sure what it looked like, and quite frankly most of the buildings in Alicante looked similar, but he figured there would be something that told him which house was the Stillwood house.

The streets were overcrowded, and Nephilim were crushing him against one another in the crowd, so he broke off from the stampede and ducked into an alley. Naturally, some other Nephilim had the same idea, and the alley itself was still a bit crowded but much more manageable than the streets. The problem was, Theo couldn’t exactly see from the alleys, and the overhanging roofs of the buildings blocked them from seeing the sky.

Theo was so caught up trying to find a less crowded street that he didn’t notice the other boy until he’d slammed right into his chest. It felt like walking into a wall. Theo reeled back and had to give himself a moment to unscramble his brain before apologizing, “I’m, uh, sorry. I didn’t see you—”

“No, I should’ve been looking where I was going,” The other boy responded. Theo was in an odd state of wonder. There wasn’t really a way to describe the boy as anything other than just _beautiful_. He was a couple inches taller than Theo, and a lot more muscular. His eyes were the color of steel and fit perfectly on his face. His nose was a little crooked, like it’d been broken before and healed the mundane was—perhaps before he was old enough to bear Marks. His jaw was chiseled, and his chin squared. And to top it all off, his hair was a gorgeous natural shade of black. Theo was totally and helplessly captivated, he couldn’t even _think_ of peeling his eyes away. The boy smiled, and held out his hand, “Hi, I’m Zachary,” Then he paused and added, “uh, Silverguard. Zachary Silverguard.”

Theo took his hand—it was calloused and firm—and shook it, “Theo Beaugrove.” Theo’s eyes drifted from Zachary’s face and took him in in all his glory. He was obviously older than Theo, but probably not by a whole lot. Two, three years at the most. He was wearing normal street clothes, a plain gray t-shirt, and a pair of tan chinos, though he had a sword strapped to his hip. Theo stared at it a moment. A plain leather sheath hid the blade, but the sword’s pommel was an intimidating crimson red color that made Theo feel like he was being watched.

Zachary must have noticed Theo eyeing the sword because his hand went to the handle, and he said, “It’s a family sword, pretty cool huh?” Theo looked back at Zachary’s face, which turned out to be a mistake because he was pulled in all over again. He pulled the blade free, and it was suddenly too easy for Theo to look away from the boy’s face. It was a beautiful weapon. The edges were a dull gold color that Theo was pretty sure was electrum, and the rest of the blade was iron with runes decorating the core, “My dad,” Zachary continued, “uh, gave it to my mom when he proposed, and his dad gave it to his wife, and so on and so forth,” Zachary chuckled, “And I guess now I’m supposed to give it to the woman I’m going to marry.”

“That’s really sweet,” Theo said.

Zachary shrugged, “I guess. Better a sword than a rose.”

Theo chuckled, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Zachary smiled, and sheathed the sword again, “Well, Theo is it?” Theo nodded, and Zachary nodded in return, “Well Theo, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than to stand around in an alley with some stranger. We are at war and all. But you don’t look like you’ve seen much of Alicante, and if you want someone to show you around, feel free to come find me at my place.” He turned around and pointed, “It’s pretty much a straight shot down this alley. About four blocks and it’s the first house on the right.”

Theo all but burned the directions into the front of his brain, “Alright, that sounds nice. I’ve always wanted to see more of Idris.”

Zachary smiled again, “Well, see you around.”

Theo nodded, “Bye,” And with that, Zachary Silverguard walked off into the crowd, and Theo set out in search of Erelah again.

  
  



	3. Chapter Two: The Company We Keep

## Chapter Two: The Company We Keep

Victoria locked her door every night, but after Theo and Erelah’s comment about breaking in to strangle her (which she knew they wouldn’t really strangle her; however, they probably weren’t above just breaking in to scare her) she added a lock rune on the back of the door and pushed the chair she kept in the corner against it for good measure. Theo and Erelah couldn’t find out that 1) Victoria didn’t sleep. Ever. and 2) Victoria wouldn’t be in her room for a few hours tonight.

She threw off her pajama bottoms, switching them for a pair of black leather pants, and pulled on a scarlet-colored leather jacket over her tank top. She stuffed a runed dagger in a sheath on her leg, thrust her stele into her pocket, grabbed a wad of cash from her dresser, and climbed out the window.

Victoria had moved into the Institute after the Dark War. She’d lived in a house in North Ironbound with her parents before they died. She was lucky the room she’d chosen was easy to sneak out of. With a good section of the wall outside her window covered by a trellis that she could scale up and down it with ease.

She hailed the first taxi she saw and gave the driver directions to the Complex. The taxi driver clearly didn’t know why she wanted to be dropped off at an abandoned apartment complex, and even asked her, “You know that’s an abandoned apartment building, right?”

“Yes, I do.” She replied curtly. He shrugged and pulled away from the curb. Victoria watched the warehouse district where the Institute was melt into the downtown area where the Complex was. Multi-colored lights from store signs were lit, and they passed a strip of clubs and bars whose signs were exclusively neon before they turned the corner onto the block where the Complex stood.

“You can stop here.” Victoria told him and shoved a fifty-dollar bill into his hand, “Keep the change.”

“All right princess,” The taxi driver replied and pulled over, “be safe out there.” Victoria cringed at the way he called her _princess_ and wondered what his reaction would be if he knew she could choke him out with both her hands tied behind her back. She thanked him and slid out of the back seat.

The taxi driver had been correct, the Complex really was an abandoned apartment building, even to Victoria with the _voyance_ rune on her right hand. It was probably fifteen stories tall and had a big “Keep Out!” sign on the glass door, however someone had scribbled the “Out!” part in sharpie and above it wrote “High” with a pot leaf next to it. Quickly, Victoria slipped through the door and found herself in a loud, colorful club full of drunk, partying werewolves.

The Complex had what they was called “Even and Odd Nights,” and that’s how peace was kept in the club. Victoria thought it was pretty clever. Even nights were for vampires. There was a clan of them that lived in Newark—nothing like the vampires of the Hotel Dumort in New York City—and vampires passed through the city on business or whatever. On even nights, vampires replaced the werewolves that were covering the club tonight. They took up the dance floor, they used the red booths lining the walls to feed on (strictly willing) mundanes or get it on with someone if that’s what they wanted.

Tonight was an odd night, so it was pretty much just werewolves. The lycanthropes didn’t appreciate mundanes getting in their way. Warlocks were welcome in the Complex, regardless of whether it was an even or odd night. It was mostly ifrits, warlocks unable to perform magic, but there were a few non-ifrit warlocks that made appearances. Though only one warlock consistently visited the Complex.

Fane Voss.

The man Victoria was looking for.

She wove through the crowd, turning down drinks from already way too drunk werewolves, and avoiding ifrits who were watching her from across the club. She headed to the bar by the front, a long, illuminated slab of glass that reminded her of _adamas_ in a way, with stools on one side, and an ifrit bartender. Michael, on the other. She walked up to the edge and set her hands on the glass, “Hey Michael!” She called over the blaring music.

Victoria felt bad for ifrits. They weren’t able to use magic like other warlocks, but were still burdened with warlock marks. With no magic, they couldn’t conceal the bigger, more noticeable warlock marks with glamours. Michael had a big warlock mark, one massive horn that grew out of the left side of his head and stood up almost two whole feet in the air. It was jagged and tinted red.

He rolled his blue-colored eyes, “What do you want?”

Victoria grinned, “You know _exactly_ what I want.”

He sighed, “I made him a drink earlier, he bippity-boppity-boo-ed it into a martini with an identity crisis and left me a twenty. I haven’t seen him since,” He shooed her away with her hands, “Now go away, and stop touching the bar. Someone has to clean that you know.”

Victoria laughed, “Michael, I love you.”

“Blah blah blah,” He said, “Whatever. Get your hands off the bar.” Victoria raised her hands off the glass and turned back into the crowd. Fane wasn’t that hard to miss, his style wasn’t something you could look over. Victoria scanned the crowd from the bar but didn’t see Fane anywhere, so she pushed through the ifrits and werewolves deeper into the club.

* * *

Theo felt his body turn to stone, then ice, then ignite with the fury of a thousand suns all in the span of Zachary pulling away from him. He’d grown taller since Theo had seen him last year, so much so that he almost towered over Theo. He was easily six-foot three, maybe even six-foot five, and Theo was barely five-foot nine. His hair was about as short as ever, and somehow the color of his eyes had intensified. But when Theo looked at him, it was like reading the letter all over again; _I guess I only let this go on as long as I did because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings._

“You’re the guy who’s staying here? _Why?_ ” Theo hissed, throwing his head over his shoulder for a moment to make sure they weren’t being watched, and then shutting the door.

“Gotta be honest,” Zachary said, “I expected a kiss, but I mean gosh what I was thinking. It’s not like we haven’t seen each other in almost a year or anything.”

“So what? _Now_ you want me?” Theo snapped.

“What are you talking about?” Zachary asked, looking confused. That infuriated Theo even more. How could he just pretend that he didn’t have any idea why Theo would be upset?

“Don’t play dumb!” Theo snapped, “Who gave you the nerve to—” The words got caught in his throat, and his entire brain started short-circuiting, starting rants he’d gone over in his head over the last year and stopping them before the words could come out. His face felt hot, and he almost punched a hole in the wall, but instead he just stood there, balling his fists, and judging whether he could kill Zachary and get away with it or not.

Zachary’s face was suddenly wide with concern, “Th-Theo, are you okay? You’re turning like… _bright_ red.” That didn’t help at all. Now Theo was embarrassed, infuriated, and on the verge of committing murder.

To stop himself, Theo whipped around, walked into the door, readjusted himself without looking back, and stormed out of the room. Theo wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do, but he found himself in his bedroom. Somehow, his sword, still sheathed, had ended up in his arms, and he fell onto his bed to stare at the ceiling and the glow-in-the-dark stars he and Erelah had stuck up there when they were five.

He laid there for a while, trying not to think much. Naturally, that didn’t work well, and his brain’s thoughts became too difficult to ignore. Zachary didn’t love Theo, it was a pity act to him, and he did not deserve even an ounce of space in Theo’s heart or brain, but now that Theo had seen him, he was all Theo could think about. Every memory that he had with Zachary, before he’d ruined everything, the ones from the Dark War, and the time he visited Idris after that, and the last time they’d seen each other, all those memories were swarming his head, trying to suffocate him. His chest ached, and he couldn’t shake the desire to wrap his arms around Zachary and just breathe him in again.

There was a particular memory that Theo couldn’t shake of the last time he’d been Idris, almost six months after the Dark War. His father had been at a meeting in the Gard and was expected to be gone for the day, so he went off to find Zachary. By then, he knew the way to the Silverguard’s house pretty well and found it with ease. Zachary was already outside, watering his mother’s prized rose bushes in a white t-shirt and shorts. It was exceptionally warm in Idris that summer, and the sun seemed to beat down on Theo’s neck. Theo snuck up behind Zachary. He hadn’t told him he was here. He wanted to surprise him.

Right before he would’ve revealed himself, Zachary spun around and lifted Theo up into the air (which Theo wasn’t fond of, but Zachary seemed obsessed with the fact he could lift Theo off the ground), “Hyacinthus!” He cried and pulled him down into a hug. They got weird looks from people passing by, but at that minute Theo didn’t care, he was with Zachary, and Zachary was all that mattered. When Zachary finally set Theo down, he started wiping the sweat off his own forehead while Theo explained to him that he’d be in Alicante for a couple days, and his dad would be busy. Zachary gave Theo his widest grin, which made Theo’s heart melt like butter, and then asked, “Does this mean I can finally take you on the ride to see Lake Lyn like I wanted to?”

Theo laughed, “Sure. Let’s go.” There was a _lot_ that Zachary had on his list of things he’d wanted to do with Theo, and Zachary sent Theo fire messages a lot about the things on that list. Seeing Lake Lyn was a big one.

Zachary’s eyes lit up, “Great! Let me go change—”

Theo snatched him by the wrist and started pulling him along, “Come on Apollo, we’ve got no time to waste.” Then they were both laughing, and Zachary intertwined his fingers with Theo’s.

“Let’s go then.”

They headed out through the East Gate of the city, passing under two of the Demon Towers and into the rest of Idris. While they walked, Zachary told Theo all about how Alicante was rebuilding after the Endarkened attacked. Every time he mentioned the Endarkened, he glanced at the sword at Theo’s hip, and after he finished finally said, “It fits you well.”

Theo looked down, and his hand found its way to the hilt. He chuckled, “It’s still yours, y’know. You can take it back if you want.”

Zachary laughed like Theo had told him a joke, “No no no, you hold on to it for a while longer.”

Theo smiled and took Zachary’s hand again, “I’ll hold on to it as long as you want me to.”

Zachary smiled back. Zachary led Theo to a small stable outside the city and helped Theo up onto its back before climbing up himself.

“You know this is just an excuse to get you to put your arms around me, right?” Zachary said over his shoulder with a grin, and he guided the horse away from the stables.

Theo laughed, “You could’ve just asked.” And he put his arms around Zachary’s waist, “Better?”

Zachary nodded, “Hold on tight,”

And the horse broke out into a full gallop.

He let out a sigh, knowing this was just an excuse to see Zachary again, and sheathed the sword.

Theo didn’t bother knocking on the door, he just opened it and walked in and instantly realized what a mistake that was. Zachary was in nothing but a white towel. His hair was wet, and looked freshly washed, and tiny droplets of water still decorated Zachary’s tan chest.

“I—” Theo blinked and almost dropped the sword. He knew he should say something, but he didn’t think that, “You have more Marks,” was the best choice.

Zachary snorted, “So do you. Now are you gonna—”

Theo held out the sword, “Uh, here.”

“Theo, why are you giving me your sword?” Zachary sounded a little annoyed, though Theo wasn’t sure if he was just imagining it.

“Because it’s _your_ sword.”

Zachary laughed, and by the Angel Theo missed that laugh, “Theo, keep the sword. It’s yours. I don’t like shortswords, anyway.”

Theo blinked again, “Oh.” He wouldn’t realize it until later, but he hugged the sword to his chest.

“Are you gonna tell me why you’re mad?”

Fury washed over Theo all over again, “UGH! I can’t _believe_ you!” He half-shouted and for the second time that night, stormed out of the room.

Almost immediately he turned around and let the only thought he had come out of his mouth, “And don’t go blabbing about… _us_ , no one around here knows!” He looked at Zachary for a moment longer and then grunted with frustration, “By the Angel!” and left again.

“What did I do?!” Zachary called after him. Theo ignored him and slammed the door to his room.

_Stupid Zachary. Stupid, horrible, lying Zachary. Stupid, perfect, god-like, gorgeous, unusually beautiful Zachary._ Theo realized he was being counter productive and finally just got in bed. Then he threw the covers over his face like he would when he was a kid and stared into the darkness.

* * *

Victoria finally found Fane Voss, sitting in a booth with a martini that rapidly changed colors (which must be what Michael meant by “martini with an identity crisis”). Aside from the webbed feet he brought up too often, and the purple-colored snake eyes, Fane would’ve passed for a mundane. An odd mundane, but Victoria had seen plenty of odd mundanes. Fane looked like he was in his early thirties, with dark blond hair that Victoria felt always resembled Theo’s bed head. Tonight, Fane was wearing a white vest underneath a beige tailcoat, and black pinstripe pants, except the stripes were horizontal, not vertical.

Fane noticed Victoria almost immediately, and motioned for her to sit, “Why hello my dear!” Fane spoke with a British accent that didn’t sound entirely British, and he pronounced some words in an American accent, “What would like? A rum and Coke? A cosmo? _Whiskey?_ ”

Victoria shook her head, “I still don’t drink.”

Fane nodded like he’d forgotten, “Oh yes, right. Well,” He waved his hand, a glass of fizzling Coke appeared in front of Victoria, “A rum and Coke,” he smiled, “Without the rum of course.”

Cautiously, Victoria took a drink. The carbonation burned her throat, but she drank more anyway.

“So, you’re here because you’ve run out,” Fane said, though it wasn’t a question.

“You know me so well,” Victoria half-chuckled.

Fane smiled again, “Well, you know the price.”

Victoria nodded, “You know I’ll give it to you.” The price for not sleeping was very little. Just an ounce of blood every week, that, and the promise to never ask what Fane could need or want with Shadowhunter blood.

Fane’s smile grew, “Perfect.” He took the last drink of his martini and set down the glass, “Bring your drink and let’s head downstairs.”

Victoria slid out of the booth and, carrying her drink, followed Fane.

As usual, a really buff ifrit was standing guard by the basement door, but he moved aside once he saw Fane. The stairwell was dark, and once the ifrit shut the door behind them, total darkness enveloped them. Two seconds passed, and both of Fane’s hands lit up a brilliant neon green. Victoria had always loved the color of Fane’s magic. It reminded her of the lime iced tea her mom used to make for her, Theo and Erelah after they were finished training or studying in the summer.

They descended the staircase until they hit the bottom, at which point Fane flicked his hand. The green light vanished like it’d never been there, and two rows of bright white ceiling lights came on. They were now in a room that was clearly a laboratory. The far wall was comprised of counters topped with metal cases, and beakers, old books, magical ingredients, and magic-looking trinkets. Two bookshelves stood against one wall with books in every language but English, papers with notes scrawled across them were stuck to the walls (though, Victoria had no idea how, the walls were concrete), and the corkboard was littered with drawings of pentagrams, and other demonically aligned objects.

Victoria made her way to the red padded medical seat while Fane wandered off towards the counters. She pulled off her jacket and set it over the arm of the chair, before settling in and holding out her right arm.

Fane came back with a syringe with a small vial attached at the top. He gave her a warm smile and said, “Alright, this will pinch a little—”

“And then it’ll be over.” Victoria quickly finished for him, “I know. You’ve been telling me the same thing for the last two-and-a-half years.” 

Fane chuckled, “Perhaps you’ve forgotten.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget Fane.”

“You really are my favorite Shadowhunter, Victoria.” Fane said, “Now clench your fist—ah, there we go,” and pressed the tip of the needle into her arm. She felt the pinch as the needle pierced her skin and watched as he filled the vial with her crimson blood. When he finished, he pulled the needle out of her arm and left her to draw an _iratze_ on herself as he detached the needle from the vial and with a flick of his hand, the vial vanished. “Here,” he said, snapping his finger, “Have a juice box.”

She took the juice box from him—it was apple juice—and stuck the straw in the hole. Fane wandered across the room while she sucked down the juice and came back with a tiny vial of golden liquid. He placed it in her hand as he said, “For your troubles.” His smile spread wide across his face.

She curled her hand around it and slipped it in her pocket, “Thank-you.”

He held his smile, “Of course. Anything for my _favorite Shadowhunter_.”


	4. Chapter Three: Complications

## Chapter Three: Complications

Erelah had come down the stairs to find a tall, dark-haired man sitting at the table, eating a bowl of Cheerios.

“Hello,” she said and walked over to the sink to get a glass of water, “I’m Erelah,”

“Oh, good morning. I’m Zachary.” He gave her a quick smile and took a sip of coffee. Erelah had been a little surprised. The coffee maker hadn’t been touched in forever. It hurt Erelah’s stomach, Victoria didn’t like the taste, Theo just never bothered, and Thomas said it made him feel _too_ awake, whatever that meant.

“Oh right,” Erelah said, remembering the conversation with Thomas last night, “Thomas said someone would be staying with us.”

Zachary smiled again, “Yeah, that’s me. I, uh, heard you guys were short staffed, and I’m on my travel year anyway so I figured I come help out.”

Erelah shrugged, “I guess,” She grabbed a piece of bread and stuck it in the toaster, “We’ve managed though. Theo and Victoria are really good at the whole demon killing thing.”

“What about you?” Zachary asked curiously.

“Well, Theo has his sword—you should see it, it’s spectacular,” Erelah noticed Zachary smiled at that, “And Victoria has her bow, her parents had it made for her twelfth birthday, but I don’t really have a like… special weapon.”

“A ‘special’,” He used quotation marks, “Weapon doesn’t make you better or worse at doing what you do.” Zachary told her. She got the feeling he knew from experience what he was talking about, “I mean, most Nephilim don’t have a special weapon. I like to think I’m pretty good at killing demons, and I’ve barely ever seen one.”

“Really?”

“I grew up in Alicante, there aren’t many demons in a land warded to keep them out,” He said with a friendly smile.

Erelah smiled, “I mean, I totally _would_ have a unique weapon, but Thomas says that asking the Iron Sisters to forge an Iron Man suit out of _adamas_ that fires highly concentrated blasts of light isn’t practical.”

Zachary’s eyes grew wide like she’d just spoke in an entirely made-up language, “Oh… uh, yeah.”

Erelah sighed and buttered her toast while imagining herself flying around in an Iron Man suit, smiting demons with repulsor rays.

* * *

As Theo descended the staircase that morning, he thought that everyone was unusually chatty. Then he remembered why they would be, and he lost his appetite. Part of him hoped he’d dreamed it, _all_ of it. Maybe Zachary didn’t even exist, and Theo had just been in a coma for the last three years.

However, Zachary was sitting at the table, wearing a light t-shirt that framed his muscles all too well, and a smile so bright Theo could’ve seen through the darkest depths of Hell. He was chatting with Thomas and Erelah, and Erelah was laughing.

Theo took a deep breath, “Hey Erelah, hurry up and eat, I demand a duel to the death.”

Erelah looked up and grinned, “You’re gonna die again.”

“ _Again?_ ” Zachary asked, looking at Theo. Theo turned away to avoid the steel-gray eyes boring holes in his soul and reminding him that everything had been a lie.

“It’s just a joke between us,” Erelah explained, “Same way we joke about Theo’s apparent lack of interest in girls.”

Thomas spoke next, “Ah don’t worry, I wasn’t really interested in any girls I met until your mother.”

Zachary couldn’t hold in his laughter, and Theo almost threw a steak knife at him. He shot him a death glare and Zachary clamped his hand over his mouth.

Erelah beamed, “See Theo? I told you other people found it funny!”

“Rae, eat your toast.” Theo told her as he grabbed an orange and started peeling it by the trash can.

Erelah grumbled something as she took another bite and then piped up again, “Oh, Theo, this is Zachary!”

“I know.” Theo replied, trying his best not to let his hatred seep into his voice, “We’ve met.”

“Yeah, uh, we bumped into each other last night,” Zachary added. Theo was glad he was going along with it, Zachary at least owed him that. As Theo was making a bowl of cereal, he realized he and Zachary knew too much about each other to pass off as strangers.

Theo took a bite of cereal and changed the subject, “So Zachary, how are you liking the Institute?” He could be civil with Zachary, which wasn’t hard at all. At least, so far it wasn’t hard.

Zachary nodded, “It’s pretty nice,”

“Yeah, we’re not the New York Institute, but we’re a cozy little family.”

Zachary nodded again, “I like it,”

Erelah smiled at him, but Thomas was the one who spoke, “We’re glad to have you here, Zachary. Theo and the girls have over stretched with all the demon attacks lately,”

“Speaking of which,” Theo said, as he plopped an orange slice in his mouth, “Dad, did you get a message back from New York?”

Thomas took a sip of his orange juice in the most dad way possible, and shook his head, “Not yet, but I’m sure we will soon.”

Theo finished up his orange and chugged a glass of water, “Rae, come on. We’ve got training to do.”

Erelah’s entire face lit up, and she looked at Zachary, “Do you wanna train with us? It’d be nice to—”

“Sorry,” Theo interjected, “It’s special _parabatai_ training. No one except the _parabatai_ in question allowed.”

Zachary smiled awkwardly, “Uh, right. No, I’ve got to unpack anyway.”

_Unpack_. By the Angel, Zachary really was planning on staying. Theo’s face heated up, so he chugged another glass of water and hurried Erelah down to the training room.

Theo always liked the training room. It was probably the second biggest room in the Institute, after the kitchen. There were all sorts of equipment, weights, dummies, balance beams, punching bags, targets, whatever they needed really pushed up against the walls. The floor had been padded to ease their falls, and the windows that line the wall opposite the door always seemed to catch light and fill the room.

He and Erelah went through a series of sword movements side by side, fighting by one another like they usually did.

“You know,” Erelah said, “We did our _parabatai_ training yesterday.”

“I’m aware,” He replied, “But I figured more training never hurt anyone.”

She shrugged, “True.”

They moved onto sparring with each other, Theo with his sword and Erelah with a longsword that looked taller than she was in her hands. They formed a pattern of block, parry, block, parry, block, parry; it got to almost be second nature and Theo spaced out, thinking about Zachary being in the Institute. Erelah disarmed his sword, tossed hers and by the time he noticed she tackled him. 

Erelah pinned Theo to the floor, slamming him into the mats that took up most of the floor. Theo rolled upwards and pulled Erelah with him, bringing her backside down on the mat.

“So, are we gonna talk about your obvious hatred for Zachary now?” Erelah asked.

“No,” Theo replied quickly, “No we are not.” He rolled sideways, picked up his sword and twirled it in his hand—it wasn’t to show off, Theo did it when he was tense.

“You know, _parabatai_ are kind of supposed to tell each other everything Theo,” Erelah said, grabbing up the longsword she’d picked out when they started.

“I remember nothing about that in the vows.” Theo said. Then he made a mental run through the _parabatai_ vows he’d taken when Erelah and him had become _parabatai_ to make sure he wasn’t forgetting something.

Entreat me not to leave thee,  
Or return from following after thee—  
For whither thou goest, I will go,  
And where thou lodgest, I will lodge.  
Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.  
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried.  
The Angel do so to me, and more also,  
If aught but death part thee and me.

“Yeah, nothing.” Theo said.

Erelah rolled her eyes, “You are the worst _parabatai_ ever. I bet Jace and Alec don’t hide anything from each other.” Jace Herondale and Alec Lightwood, the _parabatai_ duo who helped defeat Sebastian Morgenstern in Edom. They’d definitely become people that Theo and Erelah looked up to. Erelah loved Jace Herondale, then again, _everyone_ loved Jace Herondale. Theo liked Alec Lightwood more, though. Alec looked calmer and more composed, and he was dating Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. Zachary had told Theo about how Alec had kissed Magnus in the middle of the Accords Hall right before the Mortal War, when the Nephilim fought against an army of demons summoned by Valentine Morgenstern, Sebastian’s father, and since then Alec had become Theo’s hero in a way. He was an icon to gay Shadowhunters everywhere. They’d never met, but Theo would be sure to do everything he could to fix that during his travel year in two years—He and Erelah had put New York on their map of places they wanted to visit already.

Erelah came at Theo and swung. He parried and stepped back to put distance between her sword—which was notably longer than Theo’s—and his. Theo deflected a few more blows and moved in while her arm was extended. He pressed the tip to her armpit and grinned, “Does this mean I win?”

Erelah scoffed and smacked him with the flat of her longsword, knocking him off balance. He staggered left, and she spun around him, now standing with her sword’s tip against his back. Theo dropped his sword and raised his hands in surrender. Theo could feel her grinning behind him, “No, _I_ win.”

Theo picked up his sword again and they put a good eight steps of distance between themselves. Both of their foreheads were covered in sweat, and Erelah stopped to grab a bottle of water from the side of the room and took a drink.

Theo took the opportunity to try to appease her, “So, how about that new comic? Was it any good?”

Erelah’s face instantly lit up, “Yeah! Doctor Strange went head-to-head with Doktor, and this demon invaded New York and—” She frowned, “Stop that.”

Damn it, she’d caught him.

“Stop what?” Theo asked innocently.

Erelah grabbed the longsword and met Theo back in the center of the mats again, “You can’t just change the subject, Theo, tell me why you don’t like Zachary.”

He shrugged, “It’s not that I don’t like him Rae,” He said, “Maybe I just don’t think we need him. We’re a trio, not a quartet. It’s Theo, Rae, and Victoria, not Theo, Rae, Victoria _and Zachary_.” Theo prayed to the Angel that she’d buy it, and drop the subject entirely.

“Well, that’s not fair to Zachary,” She said, “He’s actually pretty cool, and from the sound of it, great at killing demons. He’ll totally be an asset,”

Theo couldn’t help but laugh. He knew Zachary wasn’t the scared 15-year-old back when they’d met, and that it wasn’t exactly the same, but the thought of Zachary standing frozen in fear while Alicante was overrun by Endarkened popped into his mind.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Sorry,” He said, covering his mouth, “I— _” I have memories of him that would say otherwise,_ “I don’t know.”

She shook her head, “I’m going to strangle you one of these days,”

“My dad said we can’t strangle each other,”

“Fine, I’ll get Victoria to do it.”

“Rae, I promise you,” Theo said, “I don’t dislike Zachary,” In fact I’m madly in love with him, but he’s a liar and I’m still very much hurt about it.

She glared at him for a moment and then finally sighed, “Dammit, you’re telling the truth,” She plopped down on the ground, laid back and looked up at the ceiling.

Theo laid down beside her, “Be honest?”  
“Always,”  
“Do you have like… a crush on him? Zachary, I mean.”

She laughed, “Theo, I don’t have a crush on anybody. Romance is weird, sex is weird, everything is weird. I’m good being the cooky aunt to your children, and Victoria’s children.”

“And that’s fine,” Theo said. He didn’t mention that realistically he wouldn’t be having any children.

“It’s not like I’m the last Stillwood or anything,” She said, “My cousins can carry on the bloodline. And who even said—”

“Get up dweebs,” Victoria said as she burst through the door of the training room, “Thomas wants to see us.” Theo sat up and behind Victoria, was Zachary and his bright-as-ever smile.

* * *

Victoria showered and got dressed feeling like she’d been run over by a freight train. The feeling would pass shortly, but every step felt like wading through Jell-O that had become just a little too solid. She removed everything blocking her door and stepped out into the hallway, and the first thing she saw was the tall, dark, and handsome guy walking down the hallway in a pair of gray sweats, and a black t-shirt.

“Oh,” She said, “Hi. You must be that guy staying with us,”

Although Victoria could probably count on her fingers how many boys she’d actually seen in her life, as the boy turned around, Victoria immediately recognized that this guy was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen. His facial structure looked like the Angels themselves had molded it themselves, and the way his dark brown hair sat on his head sung to Victoria like a siren. She had to pin her arms at her sides to keep from her hand through it.

He smiled so brightly that Victoria felt like she’d go blind, “Hi, you must be Victoria,” The only way Victoria felt she could explain how his voice sounded, was _manly_. And she loved it. He extended his hand, and she took it. His shake was gentle, but still firm, “I’m Zachary.”

Victoria blinked slowly and smiled, “Nice to meet you, Zachary.”

“Nice to meet you too Victoria,”

Victoria tucked a curl of hair behind her ear, “So, if you want, I’m totally free to show you around the Institute, _and_ the city. I know this great place to get coffee if you’re up to it,”

Zachary smiled again, but this one was a pity smile, “I, uh, don’t think my bo—girlfriend would like that very much.”

Of course he has a girlfriend, Victoria chided herself, I am an idiot.

“Oh well, that’s okay,” She turned towards the stairs, “Well nice meeting you Zachary. I look forward to your help, the Angel knows we could use it.” Zachary stalked off and towards what Victoria figured was his room, and Victoria pounded down the steps as fast as she could.

She tried to keep Zachary The Super-Hot God off her mind as she poured a cup of water and drifted towards Thomas’s office to help around.

He was hunched over at his desk, with the bridge of his nose pinched between his thumb and pointer finger. Thomas and Victoria’s father were different in so many ways, however she couldn’t help but be reminded of the way her dad overworked himself all the time when she saw Thomas stressed.

When she set the cup of water in front of him, he looked up and smiled, “Good morning,”

She smiled and picked up a stack of papers from the desk, “So, what are we looking at?” She took a seat on the leather couch and started flipping through the papers. Quickly, she recognized them as reports from the Shadowhunters who used to live in the Institute. The Newark Institute used to have a lot more residents. Victoria’s parents were two of them, and Erelah’s parents, Lukas Lonestern, Dottie Hillbough, and a couple of other stragglers as well. Lukas, Dottie, and Victoria’s parents had died in the Alicante, Erelah’s parents had been stationed somewhere on the East Coast at a different Institute to help run things, Erelah would’ve gone with them, but she was to be Theo’s _parabatai_ and wanted to stay in Newark. The other survivors were out in the world either protecting new Institutes, or out to find mundanes they thought worthy to become Shadowhunters.

Lukas had signed the first report, and Victoria’s father had signed the second. She pulled that one out and scanned it, taking in her father’s cramped handwriting. A couple Iblis demons had been near Branch Brook Park, and Victoria’s father with a couple other Shadowhunters had destroyed them.

Thomas’s response was delayed, “I’m just reorganizing, I’ve got to get better at putting things back where they go.”

Victoria cracked a smile, “So organize them by date?”

“Year, and then month.”

Victoria nodded, “Sounds good,” and she started sorting through the papers.

“So, have you met Zachary?” Thomas asked shortly after they’d started. Victoria was looking over a report from someone named Fletcher Newlin. She’d never known him, but he seemed like her kind of guy. In his report he wrote, _“The Hellhounds were boring. Too easy to kill.”_

“I have,” She said, “He seems nice.” She didn’t even think about mentioning about how he’d shot her down not even three minutes after they’d met.

Thomas nodded, “I think Theo is upset about him being here,” He said, “I don’t know why, Theo is always complaining about how we need more help, but he seemed… _hostile_ towards Zachary today.”

“Maybe he’s jealous,” Victoria suggested as a joke, “Zachary is very hot.”

“Oh?”

She rolled her eyes, “Don’t get so worked up,”

Thomas went red and Victoria’s gut sank, “Speaking of, uh… _boys_ , did your parents ever give you the… uh...”

“Thomas. Stop.” She said, “I do not need the talk.” She looked away and kept sorting through papers.”

“Victoria,” He said, “You need to be prepared in case… uh something happens.”

She groaned, “Thomas, please no.”

“This is awkward for everyone,” He said, “Theo was so embarrassed he almost peed himself.”  
Just then a piece of paper shot by Victoria and towards Thomas. He plucked it out of the air, and glanced down at it, “Well, lucky you,” He said, “Maryse Lightwood has written back.” He sighed, obviously the fire message was the news he was not wanting.

“I should probably go round everyone up, huh?”  
Thomas nodded, “That would be best. Theo and Erelah are downstairs in the training room, and I assume Zachary is upstairs.”

She nodded, “I’ll be back.” Walking out of the office and towards the staircase, she headed upstairs first, and found the room Zachary was staying in.

He’d changed into a pair of tan joggers, and a white tank top, and was putting away folded clothes into the dresser that was against the wall. The door was swung open, but she knocked anyway. He turned around and caught her eye. Slightly to Victoria’s disappointment, Zachary was still gorgeous.

“Hey,” She said, “Thomas has called a meeting, I’ve got to grab Theo and Erelah, but I’ll show you to his office first,” His room was still as bare as the others. White walls, light blue sheets, an oak wood dresser, and a window with blackout curtains. She tried to imagine how he’d decorate it. Maybe the dresser would be littered with pictures of his girlfriend and he’d paint the walls silver. Silver seemed like his color.

He nodded, “Uh, actually mind if I tag along while you get Theo?” She noticed he didn’t mention Erelah, “It’d give me a chance to look around the Institute a little.”

She almost told him no, but instead said, “Sure, let’s go.” They headed down the stairs and towards the hallway that led to the training room. She pointed down the hall to the left, “That first door is the armory,” She told Zachary. He’d stuffed his hands in his pockets and he was listening attentively, “And the second door is the infirmary.” She turned right, “And this is the training room,”

Erelah and Theo were laying on the ground when she stepped in, “Get up dweebs,” She said, “Thomas wants to see us.”

Erelah groaned, “Fine,” She sat up, and helped Theo up, who immediately went about fixing his hair and his shirt. Victoria thought he was staring at her at first, but then she realized he was looking at Zachary—no, _glaring_ at Zachary. Maybe her theory about him being jealous wasn’t so far off after all.

“Did we get word from New York?” Theo asked, finally looking at Victoria. Theo scooped up his sword and sheathed it. But the sheath wasn’t at his waist, instead he slung the sword across his shoulders.

“Yeah, and it doesn’t look great,”

“Well, we’d better get up there then,” Erelah said.

When the four of them filed into Thomas’s office, Thomas was pacing. Thomas (and Theo, for that matter) paced when they were stressed.

“Dad, sit down.” Theo said as he took a seat on the couch. Erelah sat down next to him and Victoria offered Zachary her seat, which he took. Theo, Erelah, and Victoria all fit perfectly on the couch, but Zachary was a little big, and he seemed squished against Theo, who flinched when Zachary’s shoulder touched his own, and lurched into Erelah, who pushed him back towards Zachary. Victoria had to cover her mouth and bite her bottom lip hard to not laugh. Thomas hadn’t noticed, he was staring at papers.

“So, I have good news and bad news,” Thomas said, “Bad news, Maryse said that there aren’t excessive demon attacks in New York, this is probably a Newark thing.”

“And the good news?” Erelah asked.

“I lied about the good news.”

Theo scoffed.

“Victoria, Theo, and Zachary, I want you out in the city, get Zachary acquainted with the city—”

“Whoa,” Theo said, leaning forward, “What about Rae? _Parabatai_ are supposed to be together, always.” He glanced at Zachary, who didn’t seem to have any reaction to Theo’s objection. Maybe Zachary didn’t like Theo either?

Thomas sighed, “I’m aware of that Theo, however, Erelah will need to stay here in the Institute, I have to go to New York, talk with Maryse more about this. We need a plan if this turns out to be something serious. The three of you need to get out on the streets, ask around, we’re probably looking for a warlock.” Shivers ran through Victoria, if they were looking for a warlock, they’d no doubt get pushed towards Fane Voss, and Victoria had no idea how that’d play out—what Fane would say about her. She wasn’t sure what the punishment was for selling your blood, but she didn’t want to find out.

Zachary nodded, “Got it.”

Theo looked like he was about to protest again, but Erelah spoke first, “So basically you’re giving me the most important task?” 

Thomas chuckled, “Sure Erelah,”

“Ha!” She turned to Theo, “Your dad likes me more than you!”

Theo rolled his eyes, “You’re stuck on babysitting duty, I get to go out in the field.”

Erelah’s excitement vanished and she turned back to Thomas, “Hey!”

Thomas sighed, “Get out of here. All of you.” Theo and Erelah continued to bicker as everyone filed out of the office, “Wait, Victoria—” She held back and turned to him.

“I know, you want me to like broker peace between Theo and Zachary,” She said, “I’ll try, but I really don’t think they like each other.”

Thomas smiled, “Also please don’t let Theo die, he’s incredibly stupid sometimes.”

She laughed, “Got it.”


	5. Days Past: The Burden of Zachary Silverguard

Alicante, Idris

December 2007

Zachary hated his sword. He hated it more than he hated onions. He hated everything the sword represented. He hated the story behind the sword. He hated the way his mother had told him, “ _Zachy, you’re going to give this to the girl you’re going to marry, and she’ll give it to your son, and he’ll give it to the girl he’s going to marry, and one day it’ll be the Silverguard family heirloom.”_ He hated the way his father had said, _“Don’t get too used to it now, it’s not yours forever.”_ He felt like he was being told: _Either you have children, or you disgrace our entire family and we’ll hate you forever._

He slid it under his bed and went to sit in the window nook. He knew it was beyond stupid to get his hopes up, but he had a gut feeling that Theo would come find him today. He’d barely been able to fall sleep last night, after he finally made it home. Zachary had kept stopping, sometimes in the middle of the busy streets, just to think. No one had ever taken up so much of his mind the way that Theo Beaugrove did. It wasn’t necessarily that Theo was beautiful—which Zachary thought he was—but it was something about his entire demeanor. The way he stood, it was more relaxed and carefree than those in Alicante. Even last night Zachary realized he couldn’t match the way Theo stood. And the way he talked, with a slight accent. His words were a little rougher; simpler than the way they spoke in Idris, probably a product of living wherever he was from.

As Zachary watched everyone walk the street below him, he knew it was stupid to think that Theo would actually show up. Best-case scenario, they’d bump into each other again before the retreat was lifted and everyone was allowed to return to their Institutes so Zachary could make a second impression and hopefully, they could talk for a few hours. His stomach did a nauseating flip at the thought of Theo becoming someone he’d forget about completely in a few years. Part of him was determined to never forget, but another part kept saying, “ _Why hold on to someone so insignificant._ ”

Like he knew Zachary was thinking about him, Theo appeared on the street and Zachary got an answer to his question: Because nothing about Theo Beaugrove was insignificant.

After Zachary raced downstairs and all but threw himself into Theo’s arms, Theo brought up the tour Zachary had offered, and Zachary started leading him towards his favorite sweet shop.

“So,” Zachary said as they walked, “Where you from?”

“Newark.” Theo said, “Uh, it’s in New Jersey… that’s in America.”

Zachary laughed, “I know where New Jersey is,”

Theo smiled, “I wasn’t sure, so I figured I’d add it,” He glanced at Zachary and Zachary caught the color of his eyes. Such a beautiful green, like polished malachite under the sun. Theo was wearing a t-shirt with the words, “All-American Rejects” printed on it in an aggressive and savage font. He was going to ask about it, but Theo spoke first and he forgot about it entirely, “So, where are we going first?”

“Well, I thought if you’d like I’d treat you to some chocolate.” Zachary said, “It’s really good,”

Theo nodded, “Sounds great,” and then came, “But—”

“ _Wedon’thavetoifyoudon’twanto_ ,” The words flew at supersonic speed out of Zachary’s mouth and his cheeks flared up.

Theo smiled, “No, it’s just I, uh, don’t have any money.”

“Oh.” Zachary said and fished his wallet out of his back pocket, a simple black leather one he’d purchased, “It’s on me.” He said with a grin. Theo smiled back.

The sweet shop was a nice little place tucked between two other shops that Zachary had never once bothered to go in either of. He and Theo ducked inside and found the plump old woman, Betty, standing in her white apron, her wrinkled face lightly dusted with flour.

“What can I get for you boys today?”

Zachary glanced at Theo; he was admiring everything in the glass case that made up the counter Betty stood behind. There were all sorts of sweets. Chocolates, lollipops, pastries, and other candies. Zachary pointed to the small stack of Betty’s hand wrapped chocolate bars, “We’ll take two of those.”

“Holy crap,” Theo said, “This is good!”

Zachary laughed and broke off a chunk of his bar, “Betty knows what she’s doing.”

“Erelah would love this,” Theo said, almost absent-mindedly.

It surprised Zachary at how jealous he suddenly was of this Erelah. _Is Erelah his girlfriend?_ Or _I guess his sister?_ He almost didn’t ask, but the question ate away at him too much too fast and he caved, “Who’s Erelah?”  
Theo’s face lit up, “Oh, we’re going to be _parabatai_.” He said, “She’s my best friend in the entire world.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Zachary told him, keeping his relief in check.

“So,” Theo said, taking another bite of his chocolate bar, “Where to next Mr. Silverguard?”

_Mr. Silverguard._ There was something about the way Theo said Zachary’s last name, like the name belonged in his mouth, like he owned it more than Zachary did.

“Wanna check out Angel Square?”

“I’ve already been there quite a few times, but sure.” Theo smiled and Zachary thought about reaching out and just… touching his face. Just once. That’d be enough. That was a bold lie, and Zachary knew it. No number of times would ever be enough. But before he could tell his body to do something, the sword popped back into his brain.

“One day it’ll be the Silverguard family heirloom,” His mother had said.

And two boys couldn’t have children.

  
  



	6. Chapter Four: Mathias

## Chapter Four: Mathias

Theo had rushed to pull on his gear. And once he’d strapped his sword to his hip, he bounded down the stairs to find his dad. Thomas was in his office still, gathering up papers and maps.

“Dad?” Theo asked, knocking on the door as he walked in.

“Hello Theo,” He said, “I’m almost ready to leave, what’s up?”

Theo stuck his hands in his back pockets, “Well I was just thinking, Erelah, Vic and I fight as a trio, and Zachary is a total stranger… so maybe Zachary should stay behind and guard the Institute. We’ll integrate him into our training and learn to fight together. But if we’re looking for like… a criminal warlock or something, don’t you think we should be completely prepared and in sync?”

Thomas looked up and blinked, “Are you done?”

Theo wasn’t sure what that meant, “I—uh, yeah. I think so.”

“Good,” He said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a taxi to catch.” He pulled open a drawer on his desk and tossed Theo a keyring, “Don’t let Victoria near the wheel.”

“But dad—”

“Theo, stop.” Thomas said sternly, “I gave my orders.”

Theo didn’t press further, “Alright, but I hope you know I’m not naming my children after you.”

Thomas chuckled, “That’s fine.”

Theo was waiting in the lounge when Zachary stepped out of the armory on the other side of the room with a Roman-style _gladius_ hanging at his hip. He looked good in gear, Theo thought. It defined his legs really well— _Stop it._

“Hey,” Zachary said, “We’re… uh, waiting on Victoria?”

Theo nodded, “Yep.”

“So are you gonna tell me why—”

“Ready boys?” Victoria asked as she pounded down the steps, “Let’s hit the road,” Theo was eager to get in the car (a 1993 Toyota Camry that Theo’s dad had bought for the Institute before Theo was born), Victoria would take the passenger seat and would talk to Zachary the whole time, so Theo didn’t have to.

Of course, that plan flew out the window almost immediately.

“Hey Zachary, why don’t you take shotgun?” Victoria said as Theo set his sword in the trunk.

“A-are you sure?” Zachary glanced at Theo and back at Victoria.

Victoria was nothing but smiles, “Yeah! Besides, I don’t like my bow being all jostled in the trunk. If I sit in the back, I can lay it across my lap. You’ll have a better view from the front seat anyway.”

Zachary nodded and sat in the passenger seat. Theo gave Victoria one last look, but she wasn’t paying attention to him. He climbed in the driver’s seat and started pulling on his seatbelt, to which Zachary seemed confused about. Suddenly, Theo remembered that in Idris, cars didn’t work, so Zachary had probably never seen a seatbelt.

“Just pull it,” Theo said, not without annoyance, “And click it into place,” Zachary tested the seatbelt, but tried to stick his body between the part that went across your waist and the strap that went across your chest so out of want to get going, Theo quickly unbuckled and leaned over, “Like… this.” He said, taking Zachary’s seatbelt and clicking it into place. They were inches away from each other’s faces now, and time seemed to stop. Theo knew it was impossible, but his eyes were even grayer than they’d been the last time he’d seen them, even possibly since last night. Theo could see his face in the reflection and realized he looked like an idiot. He threw himself back into his seat, re-buckled and jammed the keys into the ignition. Before long they were cruising along South Street while Zachary looked out the window and Theo listened to the radio.

“Wow, they don’t have music like this in Idris,” Zachary said, glancing at the radio and then at Theo. Victoria leaned forward to put her head between the driver and passenger seats.

“Yeah, they play crap like this all the time,” She said, “Theo seems to like it though,”

“I didn’t take you for someone who liked music,” Zachary said, which Theo took to mean, _you never told me you liked music_.

“Yeah, I didn’t really care much about it until last year,” When it was the only thing I could do to get you off my mind after I read your letter.

“Oh, I see,” Zachary smiled, “I like it.”

“I’m sure you do,” Theo grumbled, _Just like you liked me._

“There are different radio stations that play different kinds of music,” Victoria said, “Zachary, you’re free to change the stations if you want to explore some different music,”

“I think I’ll just listen to what Theo likes,” Zachary said, “He seems to be the music expert here.”

“I like this station,” Theo said firmly.

“What about that one that plays super hardcore music, Theo?”

“I’m not a big rock music fan, Victoria,” Theo said somewhat bitterly, “I like _this_ station—Where are we even going? You’re the Downworld expert Vic, though I don’t know how, and you won’t tell us why—”

That got her to shut up. It was the trick to getting Victoria to doing what you wanted, push her mysterious connections to the werewolves, vampires and warlocks and she’d cave in on almost anything.

“Take Pacific down towards the public library, Mathias’ clan might know something and they’re the closest to us,”

Zachary turned around, “We’re going to see vampires… in the middle of the day? Won’t they be asleep?”

“Well probably,” Victoria said, “However if we catch them off guard they won’t be able to hide anything.”

“And barging into the home of a clan of vampires is going to help us… how?” Theo asked.

“We’re not _barging_ in,” Victoria said, “We’re probably won’t even make it into the basement, we’ll just talk to Mathias, see if he knows anything and he’ll let us leave.”

Zachary shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Vampires aren’t as creepy as you think,” Theo said, remembering a conversation they had long ago, “The vampires around here are very tame,”

Zachary gave him an uncomfortable smile. As much as Theo wanted to tear out Zachary’s soul and stomp on it, he couldn’t help but want to wrap Zachary in his arms and take away his anxiety.

Stupid, perfect Zachary. Theo thought.

“What are you smiling about?” Victoria leaned forward and asked.

Theo hadn’t even noticed he was smiling.

He followed Victoria’s directions to a house on the block behind the Van Buren branch of the library; it was fairly big. It looked more like an apartment building or maybe a duplex. It had clearly been neglected, and to mundanes probably looked empty. There wasn’t any grass on the block, but Theo suspected the lawn would’ve been yellow. The paneled walls were painted, but the white paint was extremely worn and peeled. Thick blackout curtains covered the windows, which were covered in a layer of dust, and the door said, “PRIVATE PROPERTY! KEEP OUT!”

“Okay, Victoria,” Theo said as he stepped out of the car, “Lead us to your vampire friends.”

“Not my friends,” Victoria corrected him.

“Right,” Zachary chimed in, “Just mysterious acquaintances.” He flashed a smile at Theo, but Theo ducked to avoid his eyes. Victoria stepped up to the door, knocked three times, and stepped back.

They all stood there, waiting. Theo glanced over at Zachary and found himself staring at the black tips of his _Mnemosyne_ rune on the side of his neck. It was new, Zachary had only had a few Marks the last time he’d seen him. Who Marked him? Was it the someone else? How did they feel about Zachary coming to Newark? Or even worse, did it not work out with them and _that’s_ why Zachary came back? To try and take back his second choice? Fires ignited in the pit of Theo’s stomach and he looked at the back of Victoria’s head instead.

“Mathias,” Victoria finally said, “Either you let me in,” She grabbed the doorknob and jerked it, “Or I will kick this door down and then what will you do?”

The mail slot on the door popped open and through it slid a small slip of paper. Victoria snatched it and read it out loud, “It is daytime, go away—What the hell? No Mathias, we have some questions for you,” Then she hastily added, “No one is in trouble, it doesn’t even involve the vampires!”

Another slip of paper.

“I don’t care, it’s daytime.” Victoria read aloud, “Mathias, you’ve got ten seconds to unlock this door or I’m going to kick it down.” 

Zachary leaned over to Theo, “Should we have brought holy water?”  
“No.” Theo replied curtly, “Victoria knows what she’s doing.”

As if the Angel was on his side, the lock clicked, and Victoria turned the knob.

She glanced back over her shoulder and grinned, “ _Voilà!_ ”

“Quickly!” An unfamiliar voice shouted, “Get in here and shut that damned door!”

The inside of the house smelled rancid. Like rotting wood and death. The smell clung to the walls and burned Theo’s nose. The inside of the house was in even worse condition than the outside. The walls sported so many holes Theo was surprised the house was still standing, The wallpaper, which was floral patterned and faintly green was peeling off the walls in sheet-sized quantities, hanging like curtains. There was a coffee table whose glass had shattered and never cleaned up. The couch was dirty, stained (Theo didn’t even want to think about from what) and ripped open.

“Mathias, why are you hiding?” Victoria asked, “Just come out here so we can ask our questions and leave.”

“You may have forgotten this, Victoria,” Mathias said from somewhere that Theo couldn’t see, “But I don’t like Shadowhunters. Especially the boys, for that matter. They’re so aggressive.” His voice was gravelly, but Theo felt it was kind of soothing in a way.

“They’ll be on their best behavior,” Victoria promised, then she glanced over at them and glared, her blue eyes bright like a flame, “ _Right boys?_ ”

“Of course,” Theo responded immediately, “Mathias, sir, you have nothing to fear from us.”

“Uh, right,” Zachary added, “We’re here on civil duty.”

Mathias’ laugh sounded through the house and a man stepped down the last step of the staircase, and Theo’s first thought was: _Holy shit, he’s massive._ He was taller than Zachary, and his biceps were probably the size of Theo’s thigh. He was wearing a flannel shirt that was buttoned up to his neck, and jeans that were as questionably stained as the couch, “Shadowhunters on civil duty? Bitch, please.”

Mathias had pulled up chairs for them from the dining room, and they were all sitting around the broken coffee table, the Shadowhunters on the far end, and Mathias on the other. Somehow, Theo had found himself squished next to Zachary, though Victoria had ample room around her.

“So, Mathias,” Victoria asked, “How’ve you been?”

Mathias sighed, “Well, I’m not dead… or dead squared, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Wouldn’t dead squared mean you’ve died—” Victoria elbowed Theo in the ribs, and he stopped short. Mathias laughed.

“You keep them on a tight leash.”

Victoria smiled, “Sure do.”

“So, uh, Mathias,” Zachary said, leaning forward. Theo could tell he was uneasy still and the dreary setting around them probably wasn’t helping, “We’ve been looking into some possible demon summoning done around here, and wondered if maybe you knew anything about it?”

Mathias blinked, “And why would you think _I_ know something?”

“Uh,” Zachary paused, he turned to Theo and Victoria for help. Theo was okay watching him suffer.

“We don’t,” Victoria jumped in, “I just know you’re more well versed in the comings and goings of the Downworld than I am, so I figured I’d come ask you.”

“And you decided bringing Things 1 and 2 was appropriate?”

“I don’t know who they are,” Victoria said, and to be fair, neither did Theo, “But I didn’t really have a choice about bringing them,” She looked at them, “I can leave them in the car if you want?”  
Mathias smiled, and Theo hated it.

“I would like that very much Victoria,” He said, “You’re much easier to talk to when you’re alone.”

“Because that’s not creepy and/or indicating of a trap,” Theo said.

Zachary’s body tensed. Clearly, he thought a fight was coming.

“Theo, Zachary, outside now.”

Theo put a hand on her shoulder, “Tell me you’re one hundred percent certain he won’t kill you.”

Victoria smiled, “Theo, you are ridiculous. Now go sit in the car and behave yourself, maybe go get Zachary something to eat.”

Theo looked up at Mathias, “Uh, nice meeting you, Mathias.”

“No, it wasn’t, also you’re really short.”

Theo was about to say something else, but Zachary put a hand on his back and pushed him along, “Victoria, you’ve got fifteen minutes and then I’m busting the door down with a flamethrower!”

“M’kay, thanks!” Victoria called back.

Zachary shut the door behind them, and Theo immediately turned to him, “I hate leaving her in there alone.” He felt like he was leaving a baby with a pile of knives in the kitchen and expecting them not to impale themselves. Victoria was more than capable of handling herself, but against an entire clan of vampires? Theo wasn’t sure how many there were, but still even four of them surrounding her, without her bow, could overwhelm her.

“I know,” Zachary said, “You two are like siblings. It’ll be okay though,” He put his hand on Theo’s shoulder affectionately and Theo’s stomach throbbed.

He twisted out of his grasp and clenched his fists, “Stop doing that! Stop acting like you— GAH!” He stormed off towards the car.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re mad at me?”

“No!” Theo yelled, “Because you know _damn well_ why I’m mad at you! Quit playing stupid and just… I don’t know. Get in the damn car.” He threw the door open and plopped into the seat.

* * *

“So,” Victoria said, “Demon summoning?”

Mathias shrugged, “Oh, I do not know,” He said, “Not a clue. The only warlock I know in this city is Fane, and he’s incapable of summoning anything but a drink.”

“Then why did you send—”

Mathias smiled, “I’d thought that you wouldn’t want to talk about your arrangement with Fane Voss in front of them, however if I’m wrong, by all means go get them.”

Victoria stayed seated, and tried to keep her face steeled, but inside she was panicking.

“What about my arrangement with Fane?”

“I want to know what it is.”

Victoria looked down, “Yeah, I kind of figured that was it.” Victoria and Fane hadn’t quite been secretive about the existence of their arrangement at the Complex. There wasn’t really any reason. Downworlders weren’t as nosy as Shadowhunters—well, not vampires and werewolves at least. Faeries were a wild card, but with the Cold Peace they weren’t really around anymore. “How does knowing about it benefit you in any way?” Victoria asked. 

“Information is a good thing to have,” He said, then he gasped, “Are you betraying the other Shadowhunters?!”

“What?!” Victoria half-shouted with surprise, “No!”

“Then why can’t they know?”

She sighed, “Because, I’d like to keep my arrangement with him—”

“A secret?” Mathias offered.

“Exactly.”

Mathias shrugged, “You know you don’t have to sleep with an old guy like him, right? You could probably hit up one of the prettier ifrits at the Complex,”

Victoria’s stomach churned, “Wait, you think I’m _sleeping_ with Fane Voss?”

“What else would you be doing with him?” Mathias grinned, and it clicked in Victoria’s mind. It was a trick to get her to blurt out the truth.

“My arrangement with Fane is secret,” Victoria said sternly, trying to force the image of Fane naked out of her head. 

Mathias shrugged again, “I think you should tell me. I’m great at keeping secrets,”

“Mathias, no.”

“And why not?”

“Because it’s… it’s something between me and Fane. Go have your own secret arrangement with him.”

Mathias leaned forward and spoke slowly, “What could be so important, so _secretive,_ that you have to hide it from everyone else, _Victoria_?” Her name came out of his mouth like a threat.

Victoria didn’t respond.

He sighed and looked down, “Now I have to be the bad guy—”

“What does that mean?” She asked.

He looked up and with his eyes locked on hers said, “Your friends are going to come back here tonight and do a favor for me or I will send a letter to Thomas Beaugrove myself about your shady arrangement.”

* * *

Theo and Zachary were sitting in silence—well, aside from the radio. Theo had turned it on, but neither of them said a word. It’d been six minutes since they’d left Victoria alone with the leader of the vampire clan, and Theo’s anxiety was only getting worse. Zachary’s head was resting against the window, like he was staring at the door.   
There was a lot that Theo wanted to say: _Why did you have to send me a letter? Why not just tell me in person? Was this other person involved when you told me I was the beautiful person you’d ever seen? Did you ever mean anything you said? Why are here if I’m not who you want? Emotional torture? Did you expect me to beg you to keep me? Who is the other person? Are they really so much better than me? Why—_

“There she is,” Zachary said, sitting up. Sure enough, Victoria was walking down the steps and heading for the car.

She tossed herself in the backseat and silently buckled up, “Theo,” She said. Her voice was off. _What had Mathias said?_ It was clear their investigation was over now.

“Yeah?”

“I need a McFlurry. Now.”

“I—” Theo threw the car into drive, “Okay, sure. Victory ice cream it is.”

“So Mathias knew nothing?” Zachary asked. Victoria had explained how Mathias talked to some people in the basement and they all came up with nothing.

“There’s something else—” Victoria said.

“Which is?”

“You and Zachary have to go back there tonight,”

Theo almost stopped the car, “Excuse me?”

“He thinks we owe him a favor, and I agreed. I’m trying to keep relations with him Theo.”

“So you sold us?”

“I didn’t _sell_ you, Theo,” Victoria replied, “You’re being dramatic.”

“What do we have to do?” Zachary turned to look back at Victoria.

Victoria shrugged, “He didn’t really say, just that he needed you two specifically.”

“We’re bringing Erelah.” Theo said, “If I’m going to be eaten by vampires, Rae is getting eaten too. I’ll be damned if she lives longer than I do.”

“I don’t think that’s how _parabatai_ are supposed to think—” Zachary said.

“You don’t know that; you don’t even have a _parabatai_.”

“You’re right.” Zachary replied. Theo hated that he was agreeing, part of him wanted to fight about it, just to fight about something, to give him an opportunity to say every little thing he’d thought since last March.

Theo pulled into the drive-thru of the McDonald’s and ordered four M&M McFlurrys, but he made one of them a mini sized for Victoria since she’d sold him.

“You didn’t even ask Zachary if he liked M&M’s,” Victoria said when he pulled forward.

Theo sighed, “Zachary, do you like M&M’s?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.”  
“Happy?” Theo looked at Victoria in the rearview mirror. She still looked shaken up, but Theo knew she wouldn’t tell him about it. If anything, she’d tell Thomas, and then Thomas would tell Theo.

Victoria stuck her tongue out at him.

Victoria and Zachary ate their ice cream on the way back, but Theo waited to eat his until he was with Erelah.

“Why didn’t you give Erelah the mini sized one?” Victoria complained, “She’s lactose intolerant, you’re both gonna be put out of business—”

“ _Erelah,_ ” Theo said, “Didn’t sell me to an overly buff vampire.”

“He was kind of excessive, wasn’t he?” Zachary added. Theo ignored him.

“And Rae had to sit out this one,” Theo said, “And that’s got to suck, so she gets ice cream because she loves it.”

“Weren’t you just talking about how you’d ‘be damned’ if she died before you?” Zachary asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”

* * *

Erelah and Theo were sitting side by side eating their ice cream on an old jade green sofa in the lounge while Victoria sat in on a loveseat of the same color and relayed what she’d told Zachary and Theo in the car.

“So,” Erelah said, “We have to do the vampires a favor?”

“Basically,” Zachary replied. He was lounging in a recliner, with one of his arms behind his head, and Victoria had to keep her eyes on Erelah to avoid staring at his bicep.

“And he asked for me?” Erelah raised one of her eyebrows.

“No,” Theo said, “However, I’m using the _parabatai_ card and making you.” He smiled at her the way a brother smiles at a sister when they purposely get them in trouble.

Erelah frowned, “Fine. But you’re going to regret it.”

And immediately at that moment, Theo’s face went pale, and Erelah clutched her stomach.

“By the Angel, it’s begun,” Erelah muttered and ran for the stairs.

“Theo, are you okay?” Zachary asked.

Theo nodded, “Yeah, I’m just gonna go lie down until Rae gets it all out of her system.”

“Told you, you shouldn’t have bought her ice cream!” Victoria called as he scaled the stairs.

“At least Erelah didn’t sell me!” Theo called back.

Victoria sighed, “He’s never going to let that go.”

Zachary laughed, “I doubt it.” He sat forward and set his hands in his lap, “So what do we do while they… uh deal with that?”

Victoria twisted one of her rings, a thin, simple, silver band and tried not to focus on the fact he said _we_ , “Anything you want,” She said, “I’m probably gonna take a nap before we have to head out on patrol again.”

Zachary nodded, “Sounds good to me,”

Victoria smiled and nodded once before getting up and heading for the stairs.

* * *

Apparently, Erelah was taking a while. It’d been two hours. Theo knew there wasn’t really an exact science to lactose intolerance and how long it’d take to get it out of your system, but Theo was starting to worry that it’d be awhile before he was feeling himself, and he still needed to be in top shape for tonight’s patrol. _Unless you make Zachary go in your place._ No. No, Theo didn’t want Zachary’s help.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Theo shouted, figuring it was his dad.

Instead, Zachary walked in and for a moment stared, with his mouth slightly hanging open, at Theo. Theo glanced down and realized that besides being shirtless, he was also wearing shorts that were a little too short and showed off more of his thighs than he would’ve liked people, especially Zachary, to see. He launched himself upright and grabbed a random shirt off the floor. When the shirt was over his head, Zachary finally spoke, “Uh, hi. How are you feeling?”

Theo didn’t have it in him to be angry, “Uncomfortable,” he said, “It’s fine though, it’ll pass. Did you need something?”

Zachary blinked a few times, “I just wanted to know if you needed anything?”

Theo was torn between wanting to thank him, and wanting to strangle him, “I—No, I don’t need anything.” His voice came out more polite than it was in his head, but Theo didn’t mind, “Thank-you though.”

Zachary smiled, “I—I’m gonna…” he pointed over his shoulder and headed for the door.

“Hey Zachary?”

Zachary stopped and turned around, “Yeah?”

“Close the door on the way out, please?”

Zachary looked a little disappointed, but nodded.

* * *

Zachary had never wanted anything more than he’d wanted Theo Beaugrove in those ten seconds when Theo was stretched out across his bed, baring his torso for the world to see. His nerves felt like they were on fire, his hands tingled, and the image of Theo’s chest—the pale color, the small freckles very scarcely placed on his skin, the way his muscles were shaped and defined by all the training he’d done—burned into his mind.

He stepped back into the room he’d claimed as his own, shut (and locked) the door behind him, and fell backwards on his bed.

Seeing Theo that way, it reminded him of a letter he’d written Theo once, the _only_ letter he’d ever written Theo for that matter. “ _We’ll_ _be happy. Forever. Because that’s all I want. I want to be happy. Forever and ever. With you. That’ll be enough.”_


	7. Chapter Five: Monsters in the Night

## Chapter Five: Monsters in the Night

_._

Everyone grouped back up when Thomas came back from New York. This time, however, they all crowded around the table in the kitchen because Thomas had brought pizza (including a mini cheese-less one for Rae) Victoria settled herself next to Zachary, and Erelah and Theo had sat next to each other. Currently, they were having some sort of silent (or telepathic, Victoria still wasn’t sure whether or not that was possible) _parabatai_ conversation that apparently no one deserved to be a part of.

“So,” Thomas said, grabbing a slice and sitting down, “How’d it go?” Victoria knew this was secretly him checking to see if Zachary and Theo liked each other any more than they had when he left, but Victoria ignored that entirely.

“We asked around,” She said, which was a lie, but it didn’t matter, “but the vampires knew nothing.”

“And then Victoria sold me and Zachary to their leader.”

Thomas’s eyes went wide, “What?”

“That is _not_ what happened.” Victoria said, and glared at Theo, “The head of the clan, Mathias, thought we owed him a favor for letting us—”

“ _You._ ” Theo said.

She considered punching him again.

“For letting me question him, and he asked that Theo and Zachary come back tonight to help him out with something.”

“And you agreed?” Thomas asked.

“I was trying to make us look good, Thomas,” She replied. Suddenly she wished she’d spent more time thinking up a better cover story, “They’re not gonna trust us if we barge in and demand information.” 

She could tell Thomas was thinking this over, making sense of it.

“Okay,” He didn’t sound sure, “But why Zachary and Theo?”

“Because apparently they’re intimidating,” Victoria explained.

Thomas nodded in understanding, “Okay, so why _Theo_?”

“Hey!” Theo exclaimed.

Thomas, Erelah, and Zachary all laughed.

“Either way, I think he’s trying to kill us,” Theo said, “So I’m bringing Rae.”

“I think bringing backup is a good idea,” Thomas agreed.

“What?” Erelah said, “I’m not backup. I’m there to die, man.” She glanced at Theo, “We’re going down together.”

They high fived, “Hell yeah man,” Theo said.

Thomas glanced at Zachary, “I hate to ask you this, but please don’t allow them to die.”

Zachary nodded and with his award-winning smile said, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Thomas looked back at Victoria, “So, what time does this Mathias expect Theo and Zachary?”

“And Erelah,” Erelah added.

“I figured we’d send them after patrol,” She said, “I don’t think he’s going to kill them.”

Thomas nodded, “So what about you?”  
“I—” Victoria paused for a moment, “I wasn’t invited, given neither was Erelah, however I don’t think Mathias will mind.”

“So you’ll come—”

“Actually,” She said, “I’ve got someone else I wanted to talk to,” She started to explain quickly, “It’s this guy I know, I think he might know something, or at least something to point us in the right direction.”

“Then maybe Erelah should go with you,”

“No.” Victoria scrambled to find a good enough reason for why, “He’s… well…”

“Not good with strangers?” Zachary offered. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like he winked at her for a moment.

“Right. It’s best if I go alone.”

“Why do all these Downworlders want you alone?” Theo asked suspiciously.

“Because she’s hot,” Erelah said, “Duh.”

“What?” Victoria looked at Erelah, “No. They’re familiar with me, and you’re all… too Shadowhunter-y.” She looked back at Thomas. Clearly he was debating whether or not Victoria should go. It didn’t matter, she’d sneak out if he said no.

“Which raises the question,” Theo said, “ _How_ are they familiar with you?”

Victoria didn’t get a chance to defend herself.

“Mayrse said she had a bad feeling about this whole thing,” Thomas said, “We should get this demon problem under control sooner rather than later, so Victoria you’ll meet the Downworlder, Theo, Zachary, and Erelah, you’ll head to the vampires and do whatever they ask.”

All four of them nodded.

* * *

“Hey, uh, Theo?” Zachary stepped into Theo’s room. Theo wasn’t feeling sick anymore and wasn’t sure he had it in him to be nice again.

“What?”  
“I know you’re… mad at me, but uh, would you mind…” He sighed, “Will you spar with me? I’d feel most comfortable if it was with you.”

“You’re not gonna be comfortable in a fight.” Theo said, “And if tonight is anything like the last two weeks, we’re gonna be in a fight.”

Zachary nodded, “Right, I guess I’m a little nervous about that.”

Now Theo felt bad. He remembered the way Zachary had frozen back in Alicante, and his heart ached. _Don’t do it. Do not spar with that man Theo Beaugrove. He is a liar and –_

“All right, fine,” Theo sighed, “Let me get my sword.” He grabbed it from under his bed and strapped it to his waist.

They headed down to the training room, stopping so Zachary could grab a sword from the training room.

Theo drew his sword, “Ready?”

Zachary nodded, bouncing back and forth on his feet, “Yeah, let’s go.” They both adjusted their positions and started a circle.

“The demons stick to alleyways for some reason,” Theo told him, figuring if they were going to be fighting together, he might as well make sure 1) Zachary didn’t get himself killed and 2) he didn’t get in the way, “We’re not gonna have a whole lot of space, stay on this mat.” He said, using the tip of his sword to point out one of the large mats on the floor. Zachary stepped forward a little and nodded.

“Close quarters, got it.”

“Victoria will be on one side of the alley firing arrows,” Theo continued, “Chances are I’ll be near Erelah, so you’ll need to find a position between us and Victoria, without getting in the way.”

Zachary lunged, jabbing with the sword, Theo deflected it and stepped sideways, “So more jabbing, less stabbing?”

“Something like that, sure.”

Zachary nodded again and stepped forward again, bringing his sword downward over Theo’s head. Theo dove sideways and rolled to his feet. He was realizing how natural this felt, training with Zachary, almost like he’d done it his whole life.

Zachary pivoted and brought the blade with him. Theo parried and smacked him with the flat side of his blade in the ribs. Zachary winced and adjusted himself.

Theo spent so long seeing Zachary as a mature, _real_ Shadowhunter that he’d forgotten how inexperienced he really was. Zachary grew up in Idris. There weren’t any demons there, and then he’d immediately come to Newark. Tonight would really be the first time he killed a demon. Suddenly Theo felt protective of Zachary, like he needed to be protected.

Theo swung his sword in an arc towards Zachary. Zachary deflected it, but stepped backwards and his foot left the mat, “Dammit,” He swore.

“You’re fine,” Theo told him, “It’s easier when you’re there, you’ll adjust easier to the surroundings, trust me.”

Zachary stepped back on the mat and moved towards Theo. They continued sparring until they fell into a rhythm of sorts, _block, strike, parry, swing, deflect_. As they went, Zachary got better at staying on the mat.

Theo switched it up a bit, threw himself sideways, and tackled Zachary from the side. Zachary hadn’t been expecting that, and they tumbled onto the mat beside them, outside of the boundary Theo had set for them.

“What the hell was that?” Zachary groaned. Theo looked down at him and the crooked bridge of his nose. Sweat covered his face, and his cheeks were burning red.

_I don’t really know why I did that._ “Some demons like to tackle you,” Theo said, “Also, I thought you’d move.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to be tackled.”

“You should’ve been.”

Zachary looked up at him, “Maybe you’re right,”

Theo climbed off of him and helped him stand, “Wanna go again?”

When Victoria and Erelah descended the staircase, Theo and Zachary were already waiting. Zachary was carrying the sword he’d used during their sparring session—which Theo still felt conflicted about. It’d been _fun,_ really fun, but it didn’t erase what Zachary did. How Theo could get that through to Zachary, who looked like a child who’d just been given three-thousand dollars for Christmas, he wasn’t sure. He wished he could tell Erelah, even if he could just say: _Rae, I’m gay, I’m in love with Zachary and it’s killing me_. It would be enough. For years he’d dreamt up ways he could explain to her that he was different, but every time an idea stuck or sounded good enough to do spontaneously, her voice would float into his head and shoot him down or scare him off.

It was a horrible thing, being the way he was.

Theo knew before he’d met Zachary, but it wasn’t until Zachary had kissed him beside the Princewater Canal that he’d realized there was no denying it, there was no trying to be straight, there was no hope of being _normal_. Theo was gay, and no woman in the world, no amount of praying that he’d meet one who set the record straight for him, would change that.

Theo’s fingers ran over the cold pommel of his sword, and he gripped the hilt.

“Ready?” Erelah asked.

Theo nodded, “Let’s kill demons one last time before being eaten by vampires.”

Erelah grinned.

Soon they were walking toward North Ironbound, chatting about everything and nothing. Theo wasn’t intentionally listening to Victoria and Zachary’s conversation, but bits and pieces kept reaching him.

Meanwhile, he was trying to keep a conversation with Erelah about their upcoming travel year. When Shadowhunters turned eighteen they were encouraged to take a tour of sorts, visit other Institutes, experience different cultures and see the world. Erelah and Theo had been planning theirs since well before their _parabatai_ ceremony.

“So we’ll hit New York for a few days,” Erelah said, going over the places they were definitely going to visit, “Meet Jace and then we—”

“We’re gonna meet Alec too.” Theo said, “And hopefully Magnus Bane, and Clary.”

“What about Isabelle?”

“She’s a little too intense for my tastes.”

“Understandable,” Erelah continued, “So we’ll meet everyone but Isabelle, and then we’re off to London—”

“Right,” Theo nodded, “We’ll stay there for the rest of the month, and then we’ll head to Paris,”

“Do they do this often?” Zachary asked Victoria.

“After Paris we’ll visit Berlin, we’ll check out the…”

“All the time,” She replied, “What about you? Are you going to take a travel year?”

Zachary laughed, “This _is_ my travel year.”

Theo wasn’t listening to Erelah anymore.

“Really?” Victoria said, “Why Newark?”

Zachary shrugged, “I’d heard my dad talking about how so many Institutes were short-staffed, and Newark seemed like a good place to go.”

Victoria didn’t seem to fully understand, but she nodded anyway, “Well we’re glad to have you.”

He smiled at Victoria and then threw his head over his shoulder to look at Theo, “Glad to be here.”

* * *

“So you guys walk around the _entire_ city every night?” Zachary asked as they walked. Victoria wasn’t sure how she felt about Zachary walking so close to her, part of her was thrilled, like the butterflies in her stomach were finally getting some sort of closure, but another, more rational part of her, didn’t think it was a good idea to let him mess with her head right before they were (probably) about to run into some demons.

“Well, no.” Erelah said, “We have routes. Tonight we’re taking Route B.”

“It leads through North Ironbound,” Victoria continued, “Most of the demons we’ve been seeing lately have been showing up in Ironbound.”

“If you have different routes, how did you realize there was a demon problem?”

Victoria was a little surprised when Theo spoke up, “Mundanes. A couple of them got killed in one of the alleys near Route A, so we investigated. Found a bunch of demons the day after we’d already cleared it out.”

“Pretty much,” Victoria confirmed. 

Zachary nodded, “And we don’t know what they want?”

“To be evil, I assume,” Erelah said, “Or maybe they’re trying to like have a little family gather—”

“Rae,” Theo said, “No.”

Erelah frowned but didn’t continue.

They rounded the block and moved along. As they got closer to the bars lumped together in the area, they started to see more people. They were glamoured thanks to a couple of Marks they’d placed on themselves before they left, they’d be invisible to anyone without the Sight.

“Do these people know it’s only ten p.m. on a Wednesday?” Erelah asked as they passed a group of drunk people stumbling into taxis.

“I don’t think these people even know what month it is Rae,” Victoria told her.

Zachary stopped, “Wait, do you guys hear that?”

Victoria, Erelah, and Theo stopped together. It took her a moment, but Victoria could hear what Zachary was talking about. Tiny legs, _lots_ of them, scuttling along the pavement.

“There’s a lot of them,” Zachary said.

“Clearly,” Theo replied sarcastically. For just a moment Victoria swore Zachary’s lips quirked upward, but she blinked, and his mouth was tight.

“Ready to carry out our Holy mission and protect drunk weirdos from demons?” Erelah asked.

“Why the hell not,” Theo said, “Am I right?” And he drew his sword and stepped in front of all of them.

* * *

As soon as he’d caught the sound of the demons, Theo headed off towards the noise, following it between a bar and a tattoo parlor and down into a dark alley.

He stopped for a moment and realized that the sound was gone. Victoria, Zachary, and Erelah stopped behind him, “Where’d they go?”

Theo spun in a slow circle. There was nowhere the demons could’ve gone except down the alley. But the alley was straight and led out onto another busy road.

“This is creepy,” Erelah said.

Victoria nocked an arrow, “Definitely creepy,”

“They couldn’t have just vanished, could they?”

All at once tall humanoid demons with octopus tentacles for arms started pouring from the sky—no, they were leaping off the buildings. Both exits to the alley were blocked, and they were already lumbering towards Theo.

“More tentacles?!” Erelah cried.

“That still doesn’t explain where the other demons went!” Theo said, gripping the hilt of his sword tighter.

Zachary pulled his sword, “Why don’t we worry about them _after_ we kill the boogeymen?”

“They’re Raum demons,” Theo told him.

“Yes, thank you for that.”  
“Theo, what else do you about them?” Victoria turned and fired an arrow into the chest of one of them. The demon roared and went berserk, flailing about and charging for her. She pulled more arrows and started firing.

Theo racked his brain, he’d just read about them in the old Codex last night, “Uh, there’s something about them, they’re dangerous—”

“Yes Theo,” Erelah said, a glowing seraph blade in each hand, “Most demons are dangerous,”

“Don’t let them touch you,” Theo said, “I can’t remember why, but getting touched is bad,”

“Don’t let the bad men touch us,” Zachary said, “Good to know.”

“You’re disgusting,” Theo replied.

Zachary laughed and brandished his sword.

Theo met one of the Raum demons head on, slicing off one of its arms at where he thought the elbow should be, and driving the tip of his sword into its chest. It squealed and disappeared into nothing. Another demon took it’s fallen comrade’s place and flung its tentacle forward. Theo dove forwards, jabbing his sword forward and into the knee of the demon. It collapsed and roared at Theo. Both its tentacles coiled around his chest and lifted him up into the air, squeezing his ribcage. His arms were pinned at his side, and his sword clattered to the ground.

“Theo!” Erelah shouted and launched two throwing knives right into the demon’s eyes. Theo dropped to the ground and immediately grabbed up his sword to sever its head from its neck.

“Thanks Rae,” Theo called over his shoulder, but was already taking on another demon before he could look back at her. Theo quickly disposed of it and turned around. There were a lot of demons, Victoria had thrown her bow over her shoulder in favor of a seraph blade and was slashing wildly at a demon, Rae slid in between the legs of another demon, and Zachary was on the other side of the alley, slashing wildly at the Raum demons with his sword.

Theo sliced through a demon and moved towards Zachary. Before he could get far, a tentacle wrapped around his ankle and pulled his feet out from under him. His face smacked the pavement and dragged him across the pavement. He scrambled for his sword, but it was lying on the pavement where he’d fallen. He pulled a seraph blade from his wrist, shouted, “ _Cassiel!”_ and launched it forward. It soared through the air and plunged into the demon’s chest, killing it.

The demon’s numbers were dwindling, only a few remained beside the ones blocking the alley exit. Theo pulled another seraph blade, named it “ _Remiel,_ ” and grabbed his sword off the ground. Then he made his way down towards the line of Raum demons near the end of the alley.

* * *

Victoria had realized quickly that her bow wasn’t the best option in the alley and switched to a seraph blade. The alleys felt more cramped with Zachary by her side, but she liked it. He was amazing, like a beautiful whirlwind, gracefully tearing down demons left and right. A demon wrapped its tentacle around Zachary’s sword arm and jerked him one way while another demon advanced on him from the front. Victoria didn’t hesitate and sliced through the demon holding his arm. Then she slashed the demon across the chest and watched it blink back to its world.

Victoria heard Erelah shout Theo’s name, a demon die, and Theo call out a thanks, but she was too busy avoiding being tentacled to death to turn and watch. Victoria ducked under one Raum demon’s arm, and it slammed into Zachary’s side, knocking him into the brick wall. His sword fell to the pavement, and the demon went into for another blow. Before Victoria could do anything, Zachary dropped to the ground, kicked his legs out and into the demon’s legs. It fell over, and Zachary had jumped up, grabbed his sword, and killed it before the demon could get back up.

“You good?” She asked him.

He nodded, “Yeah I—” His face went wide. He grabbed her wrist and crushed her against his chest. Even covered in demon blood, he smelled like fresh, like a grassy field and fresh water. Zachary pivoted her around his body, let go, and slashed through a demon’s tentacle. He looked back at her, “Uh, sorry, there was a demon trying to—”

“No,” Victoria said, “No, you’re fine, thank you.”

Zachary grinned, “Now we’re even,”

She grinned back, “I guess we are—”

“Theo by the Angel, you can’t just attack the demons by yourself—” Erelah shouted. Victoria pivoted and caught Erelah running down the alley, her seraph blades blazing, towards Theo was taking on the wall of demons blocking the exit.

“Is Theo always like this when he fights?”

Victoria shrugged, “Yeah, he kind of shows off a little,” She said as she sliced through one of the last demons on their side, “He got that sword sometime when we were all in Alicante and ever since then he’s tried to act like some badass hero whenever he can. Erelah hates it,” Theo and Erelah had finished off the demons on the other side of the alley and Erelah was now applying runes to Theo’s arms with her stele, “I think she kind of hates the sword too. Theo was different after Alicante—I mean, we all were. Who wouldn’t be? Except Erelah maybe, she’s always been kind of goofy, if anything she just became more determined with her training. But Theo…Theo was _really_ different. At first, he was pretty happy, like Alicante had been a _good_ time for him, and then it turned to sadness, and then last year, anger. He was angry all the time,” Victoria remembered Erelah, Thomas and her having a meeting about it, and Erelah sobbing. _I just want Theo back._ She’d said, “He snapped at Erelah, fought with his dad, I just avoided him mostly,” She sighed, “But he mellowed out, eventually. I think he’s just…” She blinked.

“Sorry,” She said, “I didn’t mean to start ranting.”

Zachary smiled, but it wasn’t very convincing, “No, it’s fine. I don’t mind at all.”

Theo and Erelah were coming towards them now, “Sometimes you are unbelievably stupid!” Erelah shouted, “There were like six of them, that’s twelve tentacles!”

“Good job Erelah, you know how to count,” Theo said, “And I was fine.”

Erelah sighed, and looked at Victoria, “What’s the plan now?”

Victoria looked up at the sky, “We finish the route,” She said, “We’re almost done, and then you guys head to Mathias’ place—we’ll finish up a couple blocks from there, and I’ll head to meet my Downworlder friend,”

“ _Mysterious_ Downworlder friend.” Theo said.

“Theo don’t make me punch you,”

Zachary laughed.

“Let’s get this over with,” Theo said, “I’m ready to watch Zachary get eaten by vampires.”

Zachary scoffed, “You wouldn’t even try to save me?”  
“No,” Theo replied, “I’d push you closer to them.”

Erelah smacked Theo in the arm, “You’re so mean.”

“Rae, Zachary is big, if the vampires focus on him, all we have to do is kill the ones in our way and we can escape.”

“For the last time,” Victoria said, “Mathias isn’t going to kill you.”

“Better to have a plan than going in blind.”

Victoria scoffed, “You are insufferable.”

“And you’re annoying,” Theo told her.

She clonked him on the head.

They finished their route with no other trouble, and at the end, Victoria used the jacket of her gear to wipe as much ichor off her pants as she could, then she handed her bow off to Erelah, and sent them on their way to Mathias.

She hailed a taxi and gave the driver directions to the Complex. While the taxi wove through traffic, Victoria stared out the window and told herself that Mathias wouldn’t tell the others about her arrangement with Fane. For a split second, her mind conjured up how they’d each react. Theo and Erelah would be disgusted, Zachary probably even more so, being from Idris and all, but Thomas…Oh Thomas. Victoria’s heart throbbed thinking about how disappointed he’d be—

The taxi pulled over and let Victoria out. She paid the driver, gave him a generous tip, and stepped through the door of the ruined apartment complex.

The inside of the Complex was a different scene that it’d been last night. Tonight the booths lining the walls were full of vampires and mundanes. The entire club smelled like blood, a metallic smell that reminded Victoria of getting paper cuts. She wove through the crowd, avoiding the bar which seemed to be crowded with Mathias’ clan mates, and searched for Fane. He was surprisingly easy to find tonight, and she spotted him almost instantly. She pushed through the crowd and grabbed his wrist, “We’ve gotta talk. Now.”

“Nice to see you too, my dear.” Fane said. He snapped a small jolt ran through Victoria’s hand, “Also don’t touch me.”

“This is serious,” Victoria said, “Like now.”

Fane sighed, and set down his glowing neon pink drink, Victoria didn’t even begin to guess what it was, “Fine, follow me.”

* * *

A small part of Zachary’s brain was screaming at him to not go to Mathias’. A much larger part was telling him to go, if just to protect Theo, and the rest of his brain was still buzzing over the fact that he’d actually killed a demon. Like a real-life demon. And he hadn’t even died. His brain had gone into overdrive and he’d acted on pure instinct, it was exhilarating. Zachary almost wished there were more demons to fight.

Erelah and Theo babbled while they walked, at first they’d been bickering about Theo’s recklessness until Theo finally gave in and apologized (only after Erelah pulled the “If you die, I die” card). Erelah’s forgiveness came almost immediately, and she’d started rattling on about some guy named Blade. Zachary had realized that everything about Erelah was childish, her facial features, her clothes, her voice, her interests, she was a child at heart, and to an extent Zachary envied that. He wondered if Theo did too. Maybe that was what drove him to become her _parabatai_.

Zachary stole quick glances at Theo, catching the wind ruffling his hair, his fingers flexing, his hand drifting down to rest on the pommel of his sword like it was natural. Zachary still hated the Silverguard sword, the sight of it had filled him with dread when Theo tried to return it. He’d dreamt about the sword last night, looming over him on a dark hill like a furious monster. Zachary pulled his eyes away from the sword and up at Theo’s face. It was turned towards Erelah, and the moonlight seemed to be perfectly highlighting his jaw.

A flash of Theo, laying stretched out on his bed, a small patch of skin between the band of his shorts and the hem of his shirt showing, shot through Zachary’s mind, and he eventually settled on looking away from Theo altogether.

He’d made progress today. Training with Theo had been the least hostile interaction with him Zachary had had so far. He _was_ going to fix whatever he did to make Theo so angry. And then he’d hold Theo against his body like he wanted to do every time he looked at him, and he’d whisper how much he loved him repeatedly until there was no way Theo would ever forget.

“Well,” Theo said, “We’re here.”

“Anyone got a plan?” Zachary asked. The sight of the house left him feeling disheveled. Zachary thought it looked horrible during the day, but it looked worse when the sun was down.

“We go in,” Theo said confidently, “We hear whatever Mathias has to say, and then we get out.”

“And on the off chance he does try to kill us?” Erelah asked.

Theo turned to look at her, and grinned just a little, “We leave Zachary behind and run.”

“I—”

“Come on.” Theo said, taking the porch steps two at a time, “Let’s get this over with.”

Theo hadn’t even completed his first knock when Mathias, who looked like a giant behemoth in the darkness, pulled the door open and with a toothy grin said, “Welcome back—” His grin faded as he caught sight of Erelah, “Why do you keep getting shorter?” Then he sighed, “At least you’re here—Zachary, was it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t call me sir,” Mathias said, “It makes me feel old.”

“You are old,” Theo pointed out.

“Theo shut up before he eats you!” Erelah hissed, Theo glanced back at her but didn’t waiver. He raked his hand through his hair and it fell down in waves. That was one thing Zachary liked about the new Theo. His hair was longer, and it looked better like that. It fell down in waves as his hand passed through it and captivated Zachary until it all settled.

“I’m not going to _eat_ you,” Mathias said, “I need you to,” He glanced over his shoulder and then back at Theo, “intimidate some young vampires for me. Tell them how you kill vampires all the time for doing less than feeding on unwilling mundanes, and the like.”

“Uh—” Erelah said, “We don’t—”

Zachary cut her off, “Right. Of course. We’ve killed plenty of vampires. Just last night we took one down for jaywalking. Remember, Theo?” Theo glanced over his shoulder and Zachary tried to tell Theo to go along with it using his eyes, but it wasn’t sure Theo would get it.

However, Theo didn’t waste a breath, “Yeah stupid vampire scum.”

“YEAH, WE LIKE TOTALLY MURDERED HIM!” Erelah shouted.

“Rae, they can hear us from up here,” Theo said calmly, “You don’t have to shout.”

“Sorry,” She whispered.

“So,” Zachary stepped up closer to the porch, “You need us to talk some sense into—”

“Don’t bother,” Mathias said, “They’ve left. Probably scared them half to death. Thank-you I suppose,”

“If you weren’t going to let us see them, why did you ask for us at all?” Theo asked.

“His voice is deep,” Mathias flicked his eyes at Zachary, “And you speak like there’s a stick up your ass.” Mathias said plainly,

“I—”

“Uh,” Erelah said, “Did I do good?”  
“No,” Mathias told her.

“Yes, you did, Rae,”

“He’s lying.”

“Listen here—”

“Well, Mathias,” Zachary stepped in, “If you don’t need us any longer, we’ve got to get back to the Institute,”

Mathias shrugged, “I suppose you’re off now.”

“Thank you,” Zachary said, and turned around, “Come on guys, let’s go.”

Erelah was quick to follow, but when Zachary turned around Theo was standing in front of Mathias, probably glaring, though Zachary could only guess from the back of Theo’s head. Mathias looked amused, though.

“Theo,” Zachary said, “Come on.”

Theo slowly turned around and followed after Zachary.

* * *

Fane didn’t take Victoria to the basement, instead leading her up to the fourth floor via a sketchy elevator on the second floor and then followed the hallway to the door marked 4D.

“What are we doing here?” Victoria asked.

“I don’t want to be in the lab tonight,” Fane said plainly, and flicked his hand. The door swung open and to Victoria’s surprise it wasn’t a total dump. It was a fully furnished huge apartment. The furnishings looked modern, and the apartment seemed to have a black and white theme. The living area was complete with a flat screen tv on a black entertainment center complete with a massive collection of DVD’s. The leather sofa was white, the coffee table was black, and the shaggy rug they sat on was black and white colored. The kitchen had black-and-white marble patterned counters, and several stools sat on one side of the island.

“You live here?” Victoria asked.

“Yes,” Fane said, like it was obvious, and Victoria supposed it was.

“Now, you said we needed to talk,” Fane said. A drink appeared in his hand, and a Coke appeared on the counter for Victoria, “So go on.”

“The Institute is investigating some heavy demon activity, we have reason to believe there’s a warlock doing it,” She could see his face twisting, “I know you’re not behind it, I trust you Fane. I just wanted to know if you know anything about warlocks summoning demons,” She paused, “And I need to make sure if the investigation does lead to you, for some reason, you won’t blab about our deal.”

Fane didn’t react for a moment, and then he laughed, “Oh! Of course not, dear. I don’t think that’d be good for either of us. Sadly, I know nothing about other warlocks summoning demons, however, I’d go see a werewolf in Bloomington. He knows all about Downworlders in the area.”

“Do you know this werewolf’s name?”

Fane snapped, “Right, here.” He grabbed a pen and scribbled down something on a piece of paper and handed it to Victoria, “Here you are. Name and address. I’m sure he’ll help you out.”

“Thanks, Fane,” Victoria said.

Fane smiled, “Of course dear. Now please, stay and finish your drink. I think you’ll like Romeo and Juliet.”

Victoria didn’t want to stay, she wanted to go home, but she figured Fane had given her information, so she settled on the sofa while Fane fiddled with the DVD player. 


	8. Chapter Six: The Lycanthrope

## Chapter Six: The Lycanthrope

“So, his name is Sylvester apparently,” Victoria told Thomas as she took a bite of her Frosted Mini Wheats. Everyone except Theo was awake and in the middle of breakfast. Erelah was sitting opposite Victoria, and Zachary was on Victoria’s left. Thomas was at the head of the table to Victoria’s right, eating a banana.

“Good,” Thomas said, “A name, an address, that’s great. Did your friend say whether or not this guy was friendly with Nephilim?”

Victoria shrugged, “I don’t think so, but I doubt it’ll be much trouble for us,” She glanced at Zachary. After last night with the Raum demons she wasn’t sure _anything_ would be too much for him.

“Well, just make sure you’re all armed.” Thomas said, and then he sighed, “I should go with you guys, I’m the adult—”

“No Thomas,” Victoria said, “You’ve got a lot of work here. And besides, we’ve got it handled. We have an adult with us,” She glanced at Zachary who grinned at her with his mouth full of cereal. 

“I suppose you’re right,” Thomas said, relaxing just a little. He glanced at Zachary, “I suppose I’ll leave you in charge of this mission,” Then he turned back to Victoria, “As soon you’re done, come straight back,” He took a drink of water and cleared his throat.

Victoria nodded, “Will do.” 

“Morning,” Zachary said somewhat suddenly. Erelah, Thomas and Victoria looked up in unison to find Theo descending the stairs. His hair was sticking up at every angle on a protractor.

“Uh, morning,” Theo said.

“Victoria got us a lead,” Erelah said, “We’ll probably head out soon,”

“Actually, I was thinking we could wait until around noon.” Victoria said, flexing her arms, “I’m still a little rough around the edges from last night. Those Raum demons were a little problematic to say the least—”

Erelah snorted, “ _A little_? They almost decapitated Theo.”

Thomas’ face exploded with concern, “They—”   
“I was _fine,_ ” Theo complained, “By the Angel you worry too much Rae, I had it handled.”

“No, you didn’t.” Erelah shot back, “I had to cut away a tentacle at least four times,”

“Whatever,” Theo looked at Victoria, “Noon sounds good, I want to do some reading on demons in general, if we’re going to be fighting them all the time now, we should probably be better prepared.”

“That’s an excellent idea, Theo,” Thomas said proudly, almost like Theo had just said some revolutionary thing that’d change the tides of a very important battle.

“Maybe I’ll join you,” Zachary said cheerfully. Theo went pale for a moment and started to say something but Erelah interrupted.

“We could have a little study date,” Erelah said. Theo almost instantly relaxed, again leaving Victoria to wonder what Theo’s deal was.

“Sounds great,” Theo said.

“Theo, how’s the car doing on gas?” Thomas asked, “Victoria says the contact is in Bloomington.”

“Oh—” Theo said and paused for a moment, “I don’t know actually, though twenty bucks for gas couldn’t hurt. I’ll make sure to bring my wallet.”

Thomas nodded, “I’ll reach out to some Downworlders in the area I know, see if anyone knows anything.”

“So we have a plan?” Zachary asked.

There was unanimous agreement.

After breakfast, Victoria made her way back up to her room for a shower and to get dressed for the day. She knew she’d be wearing light gear when they headed out, but that wouldn’t be for a few hours. She pulled on a pair of light blue jeans and a t-shirt that Theo had gotten her for her birthday. Erelah had told her it made her body look good, and part of her wanted Zachary to see her in it. She knew it was wrong, Zachary made it clear he had a girlfriend, but he never talked about her. They couldn’t be _that_ serious. She pushed down her guilt and the voice in her head scolding her, _making moves on a taken man, what a slut_ , and stepped into the hallway.

She headed down into the kitchen and through the hallway into the library. Victoria always thought the library was plain, aside from the huge circular stained-glass window that flooded the room with light. Other than that it there was one long wooden table with multiple comfy chairs lining it, and tons of bookshelves. Erelah was sitting in the chair upside down, a book held up close to her nose. Theo was sitting like a contorted pretzel with his torso twisted and his legs up in the chair, Zachary was sitting seminormal, but looked bored.

“Well, don’t you all look comfortable,” Victoria said as she walked up to the table.

“Shhh,” Theo said, “We’re reading.”  
Zachary closed his book, “I don’t think I’ve registered a single word on this page.”

“Well,” Theo said, “You’re welcome to leave if you’d like.” It was half an invitation, and half a demand. Victoria still didn’t understand them.

“Well maybe I want to stay. Not everyone enjoys being left alone.” Zachary replied. He sounded agitated; it wasn’t something Victoria had heard before.

“Maybe some people don’t enjoy being around—”

Erelah, without looking up from her book, threw a book from a tall stack beside her and it slammed against the wall with a resounding, _THUMP_.

“Rae! Stop throwing books!” Theo exclaimed. Victoria’s eyes followed to where the book had hit the wall. There was a pile of books that had been thrown.

“You two keep fighting, I keep throwing books.”

“We’re not even fighting!” Theo complained, “All I’m saying is that if he’s bored, he can leave!”

“And I’m just saying that maybe you shouldn’t be so rude to—”

Another book hit the wall.

“Rae,” Victoria said, “I love you.”

Erelah looked up and grinned, “Thanks, I love me too.”   
“Theo, hand me a book,” She said, settling down beside Zachary. Theo reached down beside him and passed her a book with a title in Latin. She flicked it open to the first page and stared at the page for a few moments before closing the book, “Yeah, no. I’m good.” She stood up, “Zachary you wanna come with me to the armory,” She asked, “I need some more arrows and I bet you’ll need some sort of weapon before we head out.” Truthfully, she just wanted to be alone with Zachary and this was the perfect opportunity.

“Sure,” Zachary smiled and closed the book. He stood up and adjusted his shirt, which Victoria had decided was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever done, and she’d seen him in a fight.

“That’s just like you,” Theo muttered, “dumping one person for another.” 

“Now what the hell is that supposed—”

Another book slammed into the wall.

“Come on,” Victoria grabbed Zachary by the wrist—not the hand, as much as she wanted to—and pulled him towards the library doors.

“Did you ever figure out why Theo was so angry?” Zachary asked suddenly as they crossed the lounge towards the hallway to the armory.

“What?”

“Last night, you said Theo used to be really angry,” He said, “Did you ever figure out why?”

She shrugged, “I don’t think so, or if we did, I don’t remember. I guess I always chalked it up to teenage hormones or something. Theo’s always felt like he was too small for his age, which is probably why he looked like he was going to tear Mathias limb from limb when he called him short, I guess. But no, I don’t think we ever found out why Theo got all aggro,” She paused, “Why do you think you know why?”  
He laughed, “I’ve got no clue whatsoever.”

She shrugged, “Theo is Theo, I guess.”

Zachary didn’t respond, so she continued talking, “I know it’s been a crazy two days, but how’re you settling in?”

“Good, I think.” He said, “You and Mr. Beaugrove are really friendly, Erelah is… I don’t know, she’s a little out there I suppose,”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“But friendly, nonetheless. And Theo is…well, I’m sure you’ve noticed he’s a little hostile.”

She turned to face him as she pushed the door to armory open, “I really don’t think it’s you,” She said, “Our Institute has always been a close-knit group of family and friends, even back when the Lornsterns and the Hillboughs lived with us, they were pretty close with Thomas, and Erelah’s parents.” The armory was large room, the walls painted light blue, and decorated with racks for hanging weapons. There were bows, crossbows (Victoria found she didn’t have as good of an aim with those), maces, longswords, shortswords, rapiers, axes, flails, and even a enormous sledgehammer. Long tables bordered the room, each one had different weapons, such as holy water, quivers of arrows (and bolts for crossbows), inactive seraph blades, daggers and knives in silver, iron and steel, and other shorter weapons. 

“What about yours?” He asked innocently as he looked around the walls, “I-if you don’t mind me asking.”

She took a deep breath. Talking about her family wasn’t painful anymore, just like aching. They _should_ be here, and the fact that they weren’t felt wrong.

“My parents weren’t exactly sociable people,” She said, “We didn’t live in the Institute, we lived in a little house up in North Ironbound,” She remembered all the days when her parents sat on the couch, each reading a book while Victoria did somersaults on the carpet, trying to land upwards on her feet every time, “I think they were friends with Theo’s mom before she died and by then I was already born and they already a life here. They talked about moving back to Alicante a lot though… you know, _before_.”

“I’m sorry,” Zachary said, glancing at her, “No one should lose their parents like that.”

“You’re right.” Victoria said. She cleared her throat and made her way across the room to where multiple quivers full of arrows, with multicolored feathers showing whether they were silver, iron, electrum, or steel. She picked one up, grabbed all the arrows and slid them into another quiver before slinging that over her shoulder.

“Expecting a lot of shooting?” Zachary asked, noting the extra arrows. One side of his mouth was curved upward in a wide half-grin that made Victoria’s knees weak. _By the Angel he is beautiful._

“I always like to have more than necessary.” She replied, mimicking his grin.

“Good idea,” He said, and looked back at the wall. He grabbed what Victoria was pretty sure was called an _iklwa_ from the wall. It was basically a short spear, meant for jabbing and closer combat than a full spear. He gave it a twirl and tested a couple jabs before nodding approvingly, “I could learn to like this.”

“It suits you,” Victoria said, “You look good.”

He smiled again, “So do you, the whole archer thing is really badass.”

Victoria’s cheeks flared, “Thanks.”

* * *

“Dude, what’s your deal with Zachary?” Erelah asked once Victoria and Zachary left the room.

“Nothing,”

Erelah sighed, “Do you think I’m stupid?”  
“Yes.”

Erelah sat up, “Seriously Theo,” She said, “We’ve got to work together on this, and Zachary has been nothing but nice to you.”

“Maybe I don’t want him to be nice to me,” Theo replied. It was true, Zachary being nice to him made it a lot harder for Theo to be mad. It was getting to the point where basically anytime Zachary was around Theo had to start reciting the letter from the beginning. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it up. Maybe he’d start a nasty rumor about him having demon pox, so he’d leave.

“Theo.” Erelah said condescendingly.

“It’s a guy thing Erelah,” Theo said, _yeah, a_ gay _guy thing_ , “Just let it happen.”

Erelah scoffed, “Boys are so gross.”

“You’re right, Zachary is gross, I bet he has demon pox.”

“What?!” Erelah exclaimed, “Theo! Don’t spread lies like that.”

Well, that didn’t work. 

“Whatever,” He pushed himself out of his chair and stretched, “I need to shower before we go.”

“Good, maybe the water will wash the assholery away.”

Theo laughed, “Good one.”

The shower did help in a way, Theo always felt more relaxed after a shower. He stepped out of the shower and ran one of the fluffy white towels over his hair. Once his hair was dry, he ran a comb through it a couple times, more out of habit than necessity. He dried off the rest of his body, slipped into some sweats and a t-shirt, and walked into his room. He dug through his closet to get another set of gear out—last night’s gear was dirty, and he hadn’t washed it yet—and started pulling it on. While pulling his arm through one of the sleeves of his jacket, he smacked the top shelf of his closet so hard his hand stung. He cursed and bent down to pick up what had fallen. It wasn’t much, just a stack of old pictures and a folded up, tear-stained piece of paper. Theo knew what it was, he’d committed it to memory, but he still couldn’t help unfolding it and reading the words scrawled on it in pen.

_Hey,_

_I would’ve liked to tell you this in person, ~~but I don’t want to see your face when you—~~. The truth is I’m a coward and can’t bring myself to tell you this in person. ~~There’s so much I want to say, and I just don’t know how to. I’ll try to keep it short, simple, and to the point. Maybe it’ll be easier that way.~~ Things between us ~~are getting~~ have gotten too serious, and there’s someone else. And I can’t keep doing this—I know, I shouldn’t have let it go on this long, ~~I just…I guess I felt bad, bad for lying in the first place, bad for even entertaining the idea that we could be anything more than just friends.~~ I’m an asshole and lead you on. That’s the truth and I need to stop scooting around it. I guess I only let this go on as long as I did because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I don’t regret anything, but we can’t keep going like we were. This other person…well I love them— ~~given, I’ve never told them that and probably should. I just…~~_

_I hope you don’t hate me, but I understand if you do. I totally deserve it. Though I hope we can be friends…someday._

_~~Until we meet again,~~_

_~~From,~~_

_~~Sorry for all this,~~_

_—Zachary Silverguard_

Zachary hadn’t done well crossing out the lines, and Theo could read the words underneath perfectly. Theo remembered the day he’d received the letter. The mailman hadn’t known what to do with it, and Theo found him poking around the Institute (though he was a mundane and of course couldn’t see the Institute for what it was). Theo had raced back up to his room and sat down on his bed, tearing the letter open with so much excitement it was threatening to burst out of him, and then the letter started with “ _Hey_ ,” and his heart sank. And the words, “ _there’s someone else_ ” and his heart sank through the bottom of his feet. And then, “ _I’m an asshole and led you on,_ ” and his heart sank through the floor and down into the ground. Then he read, “ _I love them_ ,” and his heart sank down through the earth and into the depths of Hell.

And Theo curled himself up as tightly as he could and sobbed while his heart shattered into a trillion pieces he could never pick back up.

And then the sadness turned to anger and hatred, and Theo was mad at everything and everyone who existed. He took it out on everything, his dad, his _parabatai_ , Victoria, the walls, the training dummies in the Institute, the books in the library. The only exception was his sword. He treated it like it was the only good thing left in the world, and in a way, Theo supposed it was. It was a reminder of their time together in Alicante, when the entire world was falling down around them and that was okay, because they had each other.

Theo ran his fingers over the spots where his tears had once fallen, forever scarring the paper with discoloration.

He glanced at Zachary’s signature, and his blood boiled. Reading the words had been worse than Theo realized it’d be, he had half a mind to punch Zachary so hard in the groin he’d never be able to use any of it for anything, but instead he folded the letter neatly, and tossed it on his dresser before grabbing his sword—not Zachary’s sword, it’d never be Zachary’s sword again—and strapped it to his hip.

Theo slid into the driver’s seat of the Toyota and before anyone could even form a thought about making a suggestion, said, “Erelah, get in the front,” It came out hard, like stone. No one disagreed. Zachary and Victoria climbed in the back, and this time Zachary had no trouble putting on the seatbelt.

“Road trip!” Erelah was chanting, “Road trip! Road trip!”

“Rae,” Theo said, rolling his eyes, “It’s a twenty-minute drive.”

“ _Road trip!”_ She said, pumping both fists in the air.

Thirty minutes later, they parked outside of a 7-Eleven on the corner of Bloomfield Avenue.

“This is a convenience store,” Erelah said, “Are you sure you got the address right?”

“This is the place,” Victoria confirmed, “Maybe he works here?”

“Great,” Theo sighed, “Another sketchy situation courtesy of Victoria’s weird connection to the Downworld.”

“Theo,” Victoria said harshly, “Don’t start.”

“Whatever,” Theo unclicked his seatbelt, “Let’s go check it out.” The Shadowhunters all got out of the car, and Theo popped the trunk so they could gear up. Theo quickly glamoured himself so that anyone without the Sight wouldn’t be able to see him, as the others had done before they left, and he strapped his sword to his hip.

At that moment, a mother, and a little boy, no older than five or six, walked by and suddenly the child started jumping up and down, “Mama! Mama! Look at their tattoos!”

Victoria’s mouth dropped a little, Zachary’s wide grew wide, and Erelah tried to cover the marks sticking out of her gear with her hand, which showed off her _voyance_ rune, so she covered that with her other hand. Theo was surprised but didn’t react much. The little boy had the Sight, not totally unheard of, just rare. It’d probably go away as he got older. Children could see through glamours a lot better than adult mundanes.

“What are you on about Matthew?” His mother asked, glancing directly at the Shadowhunters, “What tattoos?”

“Those tattoos!!” Matthew exclaimed, pointing at Theo.

“Oh, yes, very cool. Now come on, we’re almost there.”

“Well, that was odd,” Erelah said.

“He could make a fine Shadowhunter someday,” Zachary said, “If he Ascended, of course,”

“And we are looking for more Shadowhunters now,” Victoria chimed in.

Theo turned around and headed for the door of the 7-Eleven, “Guys, come on.” Theo was still pissed, and he knew it. It was the type of anger that you could feel in every step, the kind that made you want to just destroy everything around you until there was absolutely nothing left. Theo regretted reading that stupid letter again, but at the same time was glad now there’d be no confusion about his feelings towards Zachary.

They stepped into the 7-Eleven and immediately, Erelah said, “Zachary, have you ever had a Slurpee?”

“A what?”

Victoria laughed, “Come on,” And started dragging him towards the Slurpee machine against the wall with multi-colored slushies swirling in big containers.

“Oh _great_ ,” The man at the counter spoke in a thick accent, “Shadowhunters, and they’re all armed! What a pleasure!”

“Are you Sylvester?” Theo asked, his voice came out firm, which he thought was good.

“Yeah, why? What do you want?”

“Apparently,” Theo glanced at Erelah, Zachary and Victoria, “They’re getting Slurpee’s, I just want to know if you know anything about a warlock summoning packs of demons.”

Sylvester went pale and Theo barely had time to put his hand on the hilt of his sword before Sylvester dove left, exploding out of his clothes and into a large gray wolf, and took off into the back, knocking over everything in his way.

Theo didn’t hesitate, he swore and took off running. Theo leaped over a fallen cart and followed after Sylvester, who had just burst through the back door of the store. The others were close behind him as he pushed through the unhinged door and into another parking lot of another business. Sylvester was barreling across the pavement, and mundanes all around the lot were staring. Theo briefly wondered what they were seeing. Maybe a large dog? Or perhaps it was just a wild poodle.

Zachary overtook Theo and kept running, which made Theo even more mad than he already was, and urged him to push on harder. An arrow soared past him and clattered against the pavement where Sylvester had been less than half a second before.

“Vic,” Theo yelled, “Hold your fire!”

The Shadowhunters were falling behind the werewolf, and by the time Zachary had reached the edge of the parking lot, the wolf had made it across the street, across another parking lot, and was disappearing behind a building.

Zachary didn’t wait for cars, he ran straight into the street and kept moving. Theo followed not too far behind, with Erelah and Victoria somewhere behind them. Zachary rounded the corner of the building that Sylvester had disappeared around and when Theo did shortly after, he could see the gray streak that was Sylvester making a beeline across yet another parking lot towards another. Theo decided Bloomington had too many parking lots.

“Victoria!” Theo shouted, “Now!”

Victoria’s response came in the form of an arrow whizzing past Theo’s face and piercing Sylvester in the back of the leg. The werewolf howled in pain but didn’t stop. Before Victoria could get another shot, Sylvester bolted left, and smashed through the fence of a house before disappearing into some trees.

Theo heard Erelah swear.

They followed Sylvester through the wrecked fences with the multiple mundanes complaining about wild dogs and crossed another street. Victoria’s arrow had slowed him down a bit, and he probably couldn’t keep running for long. Theo noticed the building in front of them and shouted a curse. It was a large warehouse, the kind with plenty of places to hide and even more exits.

Just like Theo thought, before anyone could stop him, the werewolf broke through the doors of the warehouse and disappeared into the darkness.

“Wait! Stop!” Theo shouted to Zachary before he could cross the threshold. Zachary skidded to a stop, throwing up a dust storm, “We can’t run in there blind. Everyone, quick get whatever Marks you think you’ll need and then Erelah you and I will take the right, Zachary and Victoria, you guys take left.”

“Theo, Zachary is leading this mission,” Victoria said. Theo would’ve taken it as a snotty remark, but Victoria’s voice was nothing but kind, like she was gently reminding a child who the adult was.

Zachary shook his head, “No, Theo’s right. Everyone get Marked up.”

Theo pulled out his stele and turned to Erelah, “Ready?”


	9. Chapter Seven: All In Vain

## Chapter Seven: All in Vain

Victoria was more excited to be paired with Zachary than she wanted to admit. The way he’d looked while running was breathtaking and only reinforced how beautiful Victoria thought he was. And the way Zachary had ever so delicately applied Marks on her skin with his stele, holding her arms steady with his own, left her skin tingling.

He’d stopped to apply a Close rune on the doors, which didn’t shut properly but the rune seemed to hold them closed. Then they fell back-to-back and took their side of the warehouse. The warehouse was impossibly dark, and Victoria was glad Zachary had given her a night vision rune without her asking. Tall metal racks covered the floor, each shelf filled with cardboard boxes full of what Victoria could only assume was junk. Victoria and Zachary walked in unison, her with an arrow fitted in the string of her bow, and him with his _iklwa_ ready to strike. Victoria could feel Zachary’s shallow breathing, the rise and fall of his chest on her back. She almost whispered something to him, but the warehouse felt ominous and the tension was too thick to cut through.

They moved down the next row, nothing.

And the next, still nothing. The silence was driving Victoria crazy. She was beginning to think the werewolf had already escaped the warehouse. If Erelah and Theo had caught him, they’d have heard it.

The next row still had nothing. Not even a single movement.

They’d barely moved into the next row when the werewolf burst through the bottom shelf, sending boxes and their contents flying everywhere. Sylvester took off towards the other side of the warehouse.

“Theo!” Zachary shouted, already starting to run, “It’s headed your way.” She followed Zachary but couldn’t keep up with the desperation in his run. _Why do you care so much?_ She wondered; _Theo hates you._

They all met up in the middle where a complex track of conveyer belts ran along the floors and up the walls. Victoria also spotted a forklift off to the side by the wall.

“Where’d it go?” Theo asked, his sword was drawn, the blade reflecting light from Erelah’s seraph blades.

Zachary turned in a circle, “It was headed this way.” He said cautiously. He took a step towards Theo, and like repelling magnets, Theo stepped away. Victoria did a circle of her own but came up with nothing.

“He couldn’t have—” 

A flash of silver appeared and took Erelah down with it. She shouted, and Theo immediately reacted, “Rae!” He drove his sword into the werewolf’s ribs as Erelah used one of her seraph blades to slash upwards at his face and used the other to keep its snapping jaw away from her face. Theo pulled his sword back and drove it through his back. Sylvester gave out one last howl and fell over. Victoria caught a glance at one of his eyes. It had glossed over. He was dead.

Theo pulled Erelah to her feet and pulled her into a strong hug, “By the Angel Rae! Don’t scare me like that!”

“Ack—” Erelah squeaked, “Theo you’re crushing me.”

Theo let go, and looked her over, “No bites?”  
“You’d be the first to know if there were any,” Erelah said, “Really, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Theo asked, “No emotional trauma?”

Erelah smiled, “That remains to be seen.”

“Uh, guys—” Zachary said, taking a step back and bumping into Theo, “I think we might have killed someone’s pet werewolf.”

Victoria turned and saw what—no, _who_ —Zachary was looking at. They were covered by a flowing cloak that kept everything about them hidden. They floated a few feet off the ground and moved closer in a way that closed up Victoria’s throat. She wanted to scream.

“Who are you?” Theo asked, brandishing his sword, “State your name!” His voice was confident, not at all like Victoria’s would’ve been. 

“Miserable mortals who, like leaves, at one moment flame with life, eating the produce of the land, and at another moment weakly perish.” The cloaked figure’s voice echoed through the warehouse.

“That’s a quote,” Zachary said, “From the Iliad.”

“That’s great,” Theo replied, “However, that doesn’t tell us who they are.”

The cloaked figure raised their arms, the sleeves of their cloak draping towards the ground like tendrils of smoke. A bright violet glow came from within— _magic_. Victoria’s first thought was that Fane’s magic was neon green. Not purple.

“Stand down!” Theo commanded. How was he being so brave?

The figure ignored Theo, “Miserable mortals…” They repeated.

“I said—”

And everything exploded.

The faeries invaded Alicante as Victoria and Erelah rushed through the crowd of Nephilim children, trying to reach the Hall of Accords. She heard children wailing, and the sound of blades puncturing flesh. Some of the screams that filled the air were from the Faeries themselves. Her mother held tight onto her hand, and Erelah’s with the other. Victoria couldn’t see her mother’s face, just the silky-smooth mass of dark hair lit up by the witchlight and the crimson red light of Demon Towers. 

“Come on, we’re almost there.” Victoria’s mother said calmly, “Just a little further.”

“Where’s Theo?!” Erelah demanded, her voice was cracked. Victoria knew she’d been crying. 

“I don’t know, sweetheart,” Victoria’s mother replied grimly, “Hopefully Thomas has gotten him to the Hall already.” 

“Theo will be fine, Rae,” Victoria said, “Don’t worry.” 

Then Erelah shrieked, and Victoria’s mother twisted—a wave of hair turning with her—to push Rae behind her. With a shout, a seraph blade lit up and Victoria’s mom screamed, “Victoria! Run! Get to the Hall!” 

Victoria watched in terror as her mom met the Endarkened soldier’s blade with her own. “Mom!” 

“Victoria! Now!” Her mother shouted again. Erelah grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

“Come on! We have to run!” She shouted at Victoria, “There'll be more!” But Victoria didn’t want to run. She wanted to stay, to make sure her mother came back, but Erelah dragged her away. They ran through the streets, both of their faces wet with tears. They turned a corner too fast and Victoria fell to her knees. 

“Get up!” Erelah said, “we’ve got to go!”

But Victoria didn’t want to get up. She wanted to lie there until her mother or her father came and got her. She wanted the Endarkened and the Faeries to go away. She wanted it all to go away. She wanted to be sitting at home, with her parents drinking hot cocoa by the fire. 

Erelah shouted at her again.

“Victoria,” Erelah shook her shoulder, “Get up, we’ve got to get out of here.”

Victoria’s eyes fluttered open, her head pounded, and her body ached. They were still in the warehouse. The cement underneath her was cold. She sat up and looked around her. Theo and Zachary were nowhere to be seen, just her and Erelah in what looked to be a strange room. The walls looked contorted—no; the walls were made of just about everything in the warehouse. Conveyor belts, metal racks, junk from the boxes, cement, it’d all come together to form a sort of wall that enclosed Erelah and Victoria.

“What the hell happened?” Victoria asked as she climbed to her feet. Her bow seemed to be missing as well, and she felt almost underdressed without it.

“That warlock tried to blow us up.” Erelah said, “Come on, let’s climb the walls and get out of here.” Victoria nodded, but before they could do anything, Erelah yelped and clutched her hand.

“What’s wrong?” Victoria asked, taking her arm.

“I think Theo just got burned.” She said, “And holy mother of balls does it hurt.” She shook her hand and sighed with relief, “He must’ve used an _iratze_ , the pain’s gone now.”

“So he’s okay?”

Erelah nodded, “Hopefully he’s with Zachary.”

“If he is, then we’ve got to get out of here before they kill each other.”

Erelah nodded, and they turned towards the wall.

Then, something light hit Victoria in the head and fell to the ground. It was white and squirmed around on the ground helplessly.

“I-is that a worm?”

“Uh,” Erelah said, as another one landed beside Victoria. She yelped and moved away from where she’d been standing. Victoria and Erelah looked up at the ceiling as a swirling purplish vortex spiraled open and thousands of worms poured out, hitting the ground.

“What the hell—”

“Oh no,” Erelah said, “That’s a Vermithrall.”

“What does that mean?”

“We have to kill _every single_ one of those worms or it’ll keep coming back. And each one of those worms is a demon.”

Victoria’s gut churned, but she pulled both of the seraph blades from her belt, “Well, I suppose we should get chopping then.” The worms were still pouring from the ceiling and the Vermithrall was already seven feet tall.

Erelah pulled two seraph blades, “I hate being a Shadowhunter.”

* * *

Theo’s eyes shot open and his head shot upward as Zachary finished with his stele, “Where are we?”

“The warehouse,” Zachary replied automatically. He stood up and held out his hand to Theo, who took it reluctantly, “That warlock exploded everything and trapped us in this weird cage.” He motioned to everything around them. It was like the warehouse itself had come to life and used everything it had to enclose Theo and Zachary in an area.

Zachary bent over and picked up Theo’s sword, “Here.”

“Thanks,” Theo took the sword and returned it to its scabbard, “Well, Erelah’s alive, but I don’t see her.”

“Erelah and Victoria are both missing,” Zachary confirmed, “Come on, let’s climb the racks.” They made their way to the wall and Theo grabbed a chunk of metal sticking out to use as a handhold. Instantly his hand smoked and a searing hot pain surged through his hand. He shouted and reeled his hand back, cradling it close to his chest.

“What?!” Zachary said, “Let me see.”

“Leave me alone,” Theo grunted through his teeth.

Zachary forcefully grabbed his arm, “Dammit Theo, you need an _iratze_!” He pulled his stele back out, flipped Theo’s hand over and drew one. A calming sensation drafted over Theo’s entire body and the pain withdrew until it didn’t exist anymore, “Are you okay?”

Theo ignored him, “What now?”

Zachary sighed, “I guess we wait for help.”

“From who!?” Theo asked, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we don’t exactly have an army of Shadowhunters just waiting to come rescue us hanging around the Institute!”

“Well, are we just gonna starve then?!” Zachary shouted back. His face exploded with fury, something Theo had never seen before, “ _What is your problem?_ I literally moved across the world for _you_! From Alicante, might I remind you, which is the prettiest city in the world! I moved to this trash heap of a city you call home _for you_! And what do I get in return? Just anger! And you won’t even tell me why! I don’t even think you know why you’re angry!”

At first Theo was taken aback, but then the fury he’d held onto rushed forward and burst out, “You didn’t move here for me!” He roared, “You moved here for—”

He didn’t get to finish. Something soared through the air and struck the ground beside him, it sizzled and oozed. Acid?

Theo looked past Zachary at several giant spider-like demons the size of a car, each with eight hairy legs, twelve beady, black, soulless eyes, and a giant scorpion’s tail coming out of the middle of their back.

Zachary turned, “What the hell are those?”

“I’m sure they’d love to answer your question,” Theo said, “After they kill us,”

Zachary and Theo both drew their weapons. Theo couldn’t help but notice how nice the _iklwa_ looked in Zachary’s hands. It fit him.

“I’ll take right, you take left?” Zachary suggested.

Theo nodded, “Sure, just don’t get stung. I’m sure those tails are poisonous.”

“Naturally.”

And Theo charged.

The two spiders at the front launched themselves forward like jumping spiders, easily closing the distance between them and the Shadowhunters. The one closet to Theo fired acid in his direction. He rolled sideways and came up slashing. The tip of his blade grazed the demon’s front leg, and it let out a shrill sort of shout. Theo slashed downwards with his sword across the demon’s legs. The demon recoiled and shouted again before thrusting forward one of its legs, using it almost like a spear. Theo parried it and barely had time to move before the scorpion tail jabbed towards his chest.

Zachary shouted in surprise, and the next sound that followed was one of the spider’s screaming. Theo was too busy to turn around, but he prayed to every Angel that he knew that Zachary was alright. He swung his sword again, aiming at the demon’s legs once more—he figured if he could just get rid of enough legs, the demon would become immobile and he’d only have to worry about the tail which he decided he would do later.

His blade tore through the demon’s flesh and severed its legs just below where they bent with a disgusting noise Theo would have nightmares about. Ichor exploded out of the demon and splattered all over Theo. The demon screamed in response and stumbled backwards; it had lost its balance and was trying to accommodate. That was good.

Another demon had made it over to Theo now. Theo pulled a seraph blade from his belt and quickly named it before rolling backwards and away from the two demons. As he came up on his feet, he launched the seraph blade like a spear towards the two demons. It soared through the air and buried itself in the second demon’s side. It screamed and flared up with white light before exploding with a shower of ichor. The seraph blade clattered to the ground, its light fading from the excessive amount of ichor.

The other demon launched itself into the air and came down on top of Theo, flattening him to the ground. He jabbed upwards with his sword and into the demon’s chest. It screamed before following its friend’s example and dying. By the time Theo was on his feet, another demon had taken the places of their fallen comrades.

“How are you doin’ Hyacinthus?” Zachary called out.

“Just fine! You?”

“I’m doing okay all things considered, haven’t pissed myself yet either, so that’s reassuring.”

Theo found himself laughing, “If only these demons were faeries.”

“To be fair—Whoa!” There was a pause, “To be fair, I was like fifteen and had never actually had to fight something in my life.”

“I was thirteen and had literally stabbed a demon _once_!” Theo said, “Don’t act like I was that much more experienced that you were!”

Zachary let out a laugh that filled the space they were trapped in.

Theo dodged one of the demon’s tails, sliced off a leg that came shooting towards him, and moved inward to plunge his sword into the demon’s side. He could see the tail rearing up to strike. He pulled his sword back, but it seemed to be caught on something. At the last moment, he threw himself sideways and the tip of the stinger narrowly missed his foot. He clambered to his feet and pulled the other seraph blade he’d brought with him, “ _Michael!”_ he shouted, and raised it as the demon’s tail reared up to strike again. The tail came fast, but Theo’s agility rune (he’d have to thank Erelah for that one later) acted and he moved out of the way before whipping around and lashing out with the seraph blade. It tore easily through the tail and left it wriggling in the concrete, almost like a flimsy totem pole in the wind. A blast of acid struck him in the leg and ate away at his armor as he thrust himself and his sword forward into the demon’s face and it died.

His sword clattered to the ground as he used his seraph blade to swipe away as much of the acid as he could before it got through to his skin. The seraph blade’s light began to dim as well as the acid ate away at it, so he discarded it and scooped up his sword. It’d only been out of his hand for a short while, three minutes tops, but Theo felt like he’d just come home after a long six-week vacation. The handle was warm, and it fit perfectly in his hand. He smiled just a little.

Theo met the next demon halfway between where he was and the demons were clouded together, like they were each waiting for their turn—which Theo thought was odd. If they’d all just charged, Theo and Zachary would’ve been dead by now. Silently, he thanked the universe that demons weren’t very intelligent.

The demon thrust both its front legs forward, crossing them in an X shape that would’ve speared Theo through had he been any wider. He brought his sword downward over the spot where the legs crossed, severing them both at once. The demon screamed and reared back, thrusting its tail forwards. Theo ducked, narrowly avoiding it, and rolled sideways before the demon could strike again. There was a slight burning in Theo’s thigh now where the acid had struck. He cursed and drove his sword forward towards the demon’s neck, but the demon pivoted and used its legs to slap Theo sideways. He fell to the ground on his back and his sword fell from his hand. The demon slammed two of its legs into the ground on either side of Theo’s head and looked down at him with all twelve eyes and opened its mouth.

Theo reached around for his sword but couldn’t find it anywhere. He silently cursed and quickly reached for his belt—he was out of seraph blades. He cursed again.

Something soared through the air and buried itself in one of the demon's eye. It screamed and staggered backwards, lashing its tail outwards randomly like a blind person firing a gun. Zachary’s hand was on his shoulder, “You good?” He asked before helping him to his feet. Zachary pulled a seraph blade as the demon backed up into the wall, screamed from the burn and whipped its head around again into the wall before falling over and dying.

“Thanks,” Theo said breathlessly, and scooped up his sword from where it’d fallen.

“There aren’t many left,” Zachary said, “Just those four.” He nodded to the ones hiding in the shadows of the enclosed circle they were in. Theo noticed Zachary’s shoulder was bleeding, and the arm attached hung a little limp. One of the demon’s must’ve stabbed him.

“I’ll take two and you take two?” Theo suggested. The pain in his thigh flared just a little, as if to remind him it was there, “Don’t let them kill us for a second,” he said and pulled his stele from his pocket. He drew a quick and messy _iratze_ near the spot where his leg burned, thanks to the hole in both his pants and gear. Then he turned on Zachary and quickly drew another rune, trying not to focus on it too much. The burning stopped, and Zachary rotated his injured shoulder. It’d probably ache for a while, but at least he could use that arm now.

The demons had realized they were the only ones left and stepped out of the shadows, “Theo,” Zachary said, “Move!”

Theo reacted and threw himself sideways as the front two demons fired a massive wave of acid towards them. It splattered against the wall and broke through the floor. Theo looked around. There were small holes in the concrete everywhere now from the other demons. Aside from his leg, he and Zachary hadn’t been burned to death by acid. A sense of heroism surged through him. His grip on the hilt of his sword tightened, “Avoid their tails.”

Zachary nodded, “Right.” He pulled another seraph blade and named it. It blazed up with white light and Theo watched his whole body tense. Even covered in sweat, grime, blood, and 

And then the demons jumped.

They landed in front of Theo and Zachary and screamed a warning before they front two thrusted their legs forward. Theo sliced through the ones coming towards him, and Zachary hacked the ends of the legs, aiming for him into pieces. The demons bringing up the rear fanned out on both sides of the front two, and all four advanced like a moving wall.

Zachary mimicked what Theo had done earlier and threw one of his seraph blades like a spear. It soared through the air and straight into the face of the far-right demon. It screamed and fell back before dying.

“Nice shot,” Theo said, “I don’t suppose you have three more of those in you?”

Zachary chuckled, “Yeah no, I’m all out of weapons.”

Theo nodded, “Oh well. Three is better than four.”

“Except in our case, in which four would be much better.”

“Right,” Theo said, “but we’re the good guys.” The demon’s tails all reared up as they walked, they’d probably strike as soon as they were close enough. Theo prepared for it, and he hoped Zachary had too, because it was too late for him to say anything. The demons stabbed forward with their legs, Theo had gotten used to dealing with this now, and sliced through three of them by the time the legs retreated. The demons were walking weird now, each one had some number of legs that had been cut short.

Zachary was getting in close to the demon on the right, slashing with his seraph blade and rolling anytime it tried to run him through with its legs. Theo advanced on the left most demon, keeping an eye on the one in the middle. He slashed through more of its legs, sending it into a screaming frenzy. It was restricted to its back legs now and screaming from Zachary’s demon was a good sign.

Are we actually going to survive this?

Apparently, Theo had jinxed it because everything immediately went wrong.

Zachary shouted, and the demon screamed almost triumphantly. Theo turned as Zachary hit the ground and the demon reared up its tail to strike. Theo broke away from the demon he was engaging with and made a run for Zachary. The middle one caught him with its leg and knocked him backwards before firing a wad of acid that landed inches away from his face. Theo jumped back to his feet, forgetting his sword, somehow avoided the middle demon’s legs again and threw himself down in front of Zachary as the demon’s tail extended, pierced his armor like it was water, and dug itself in his back. Zachary shouted his name and moved out from under him. The sound of a demon dying followed. _No, he’s trying to fight them. He’s gonna get killed—_

* * *

Erelah felt it. Something sharp stabbed through her back and filled her body with fire. She tried to fight it, swatting away at the overwhelming army of demon worms crawling up her, but it quickly took over her body and she collapsed to one knee.

“Rae!” Victoria shouted, slashing through a wave of worms, jumping up at her, and bolting across the cement to get to her. Victoria swatted away at the worms on Erelah’s face, and helped her up, “What’s wrong?!” Erelah had never felt pain like this. As Victoria helped her to her feet, she felt like she was moving through molten lava, her nerves were screaming, and her brain was panicking.

“Theo,” Erelah said, “He’s not okay.”

“What?”

Erelah’s eyes teared up, and panic broke through her voice, “I think Theo’s going to die.”

* * *

Zachary threw himself down beside Theo, dropping Theo’s sword in the process. He’d used it to kill the remaining demons. What a rush.

He flipped Theo over and pulled his body into his own lap. He reached for his stele, tore open the jacket of Theo’s gear and his shirt, and started drawing anti-poison runes.

It should’ve been me. It should’ve been me. It should’ve been me.

“Don’t you dare die on my Theo Beaugrove.” Zachary said, “I swear by the Angel, I’ll kill you.”

Theo chuckled weakly, “We’ll see.” Three small drops of blood from Zachary’s face fell onto Theo’s chest. Theo’s chest was rising and falling slowly, but steadily. That was a good sign. “The runes aren’t working,” He said, “Just to let you know.”

“They have to work,” Zachary said, “Stop trying to die.”

Theo smiled, “I’m not _trying_ , you think I _want_ to face the wrath of Rae when she busts into the afterlife and drags me back by my ears?”

“Theo…” Zachary said, “ _Hyacinthus_ ,”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Theo said, reaching up to touch Zachary’s face and his fingers came away wet with blood, “Well, your face is a little cut up, but you know… all things considered you’re okay. Even if I do hate you with every fiber of my being.”

Zachary wasn’t sure whether who did what, but they were kissing. Theo was sitting up, facing him with his lips on Zachary’s. It was just as perfect as Zachary remembered, like every piece in his body that was out of place was suddenly in place. The kiss seemed to cease the panic in his body, and he didn’t even notice when his blood ran down his face and in between the tiny gap of their lips, and he didn’t notice when the walls crashed down around them. He didn’t hear Victoria’s gasp, or Erelah shout Theo’s name.

And then Theo went limp, and every cell in Zachary’s body screamed.

_Hyacinthus._


	10. Days Past: A Kiss Worthy of a Prince

Alicante, Idris

December 2007

Theo had been surprised when Zachary agreed to meet him again after the first time, and then Zachary had been the one to suggest they meet again _,_ and then even once more. Zachary was easy for Theo, and he often felt like he found himself babbling about everything and nothing when Zachary asked him anything. Theo had to constantly remind himself to shut up every once in a while.

Tonight was different for them. Maybe it was because they’d both snuck out, Theo wasn’t sure. Everything about them was different. Zachary was moving differently, almost totally and completely in synch with Theo, their steps matched despite Zachary’s longer legs, and their arms swung in unison again despite Zachary’s longer arms. As a gust of chilly wind blew through the streets and ruffled both of their hair, Theo imagined the wind had ruffled his hair the exact same way it had Zachary’s. It also made him wish he’d wore a jacket.

Theo had realized he shivered until Zachary said something, “Are you cold?”

Theo smiled, “A little, I didn’t exactly have a lot of time to pack warm clothes while my father shoved me through a portal.”

Zachary laughed, “Here,” And slipped out of his navy-blue jacket, “Take my coat.”

“But then you’ll be cold,”

“I don’t see your point,” Zachary said, “Just take it. I’ll be fine.”

Theo wanted to take the coat, he knew it’d smell like Zachary and he had an odd obsession with it. He took the coat and threw it on, “Fine,” He said as he zipped it up. Zachary’s body heat seemed trapped in the soft material of the coat and started heating up Theo’s chest almost immediately, “But give me your arm.” Theo pulled his stele from his back pocket.

“What for?” Zachary asked as he, without hesitation, gave Theo his right arm.

Theo smiled, “A Mark silly,” He said, and stopped walking to steady Zachary’s arm, “It’ll keep you warm.” Theo drew the Mark as perfectly as he could. He liked the way the lines spiraled out of the tip of his stele and on Zachary’s pale skin. Butterflies fluttered around in Theo’s stomach as he drew, and when it was done, he had to remind himself to let go of Zachary’s arm.

“Thanks,” Zachary said, “Now come on, we’re almost there.”

“Where even is _there_?” Theo asked.

“Technically, you’ve seen it before, but not from where we’re going to see it.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything,” Theo said.

“I know.” Zachary grinned at him, and Theo’s insides turned to melted butter. He wished he could grin like that, the way Zachary’s mouth curved upwards, and the way his lips were shaped, Theo wished he could have that.

“You’re impossible.”

Zachary laughed—another thing Theo envied. Zachary’s laugh was so… full, like exactly what Theo would think of if thinking of the perfect laugh. It always had a clear start and end, with several notes in the middle, like a tune for a children’s lullaby. “Ooh, look,” Zachary said, “We’re here.”

It was kind of pretty. Under the lights of the Demon Towers Theo could see a small patch of grass that overlooked a huge canal which if Theo was correct was the Princewater Canal. There weren’t many buildings around, and Theo realized he could see more of the night sky than other places in the city. It was amazing.

“Wow—” Bright light danced across the water of the canal, and the reflection of the moon rippled.

“Do you like it?” Zachary asked.

Theo smiled, “Yeah, I really do.”

“Good,” He said, taking a seat in the grass. He patted next to him, and Theo sat. Their shoulders touched.

“Now, tell me more about New Jersey.” Zachary said.

Theo laughed, “Really?”  
“Tell me every little thing that has gone on in the Institute since you were born. I want to know everyone who has entered every room since January Twenty-Eighth, 1994.”

“You remembered my birthday?”

“I remember a lot about you, Theo.”

Theo’s breath caught, “Well— “

Zachary interrupted him, “You know, there’s this myth in a book I got for my birthday one year, about this Greek god named Apollo and his human lover, Hyacinthus.” Theo was already captivated by the story and eagerly listened as Zachary spoke, “Basically, Hyacinthus was the most beautiful mortal in Sparta, and he and Apollo fell in love—”

“They were gay?” Theo asked. It wasn’t a malicious question, more surprise than anything.

“Yes.” Zachary said, “Greeks didn’t really care who you loved. Anyway, one day this other god got jealous of Apollo, and killed Hyacinthus. Apollo, who was the God of healing, tried everything to save him, but it was too late, Hyacinthus died.”

“Well, that’s not a very happy myth,” Theo remarked.

“Shhh,” Zachary chuckled, “I’m not done yet,”

“My bad,” Theo said, “Please, continue.”

“So Apollo, not wanting to lose Hyacinthus forever, made a flower spring from his blood, and called it a Hyacinth—it’s probably not the Hyacinth flower we know, but whatever. Apollo even considered giving up his godhood to be with Hyacinthus, and eventually resurrected him on Mount Olympus, the home of the Gods.”

“Wow…” Theo said, “Apollo must’ve loved Hyacinthus a lot.”

“Yeah…” Zachary said, “Love is a powerful thing.” He turned to face Theo, and the steel color of his eyes reflected Theo’s face. Theo liked that; it was like all Zachary could see was Theo and nothing but Theo.

“I want to be in love like that one day.” Theo said, his voice just a whisper.

“You remind me of Hyacinthus,” Zachary said quietly. He’d leaned in a little, and the tips of their noses threatened to touch.

Theo’s whole body felt like it’d caught on fire. “ _Hyacinthus was the most beautiful mortal…_ ” Zachary had said.

“Why do I remind you of Hyacinthus?”

Zachary’s face was full of something that Theo thought resembled fear, “I think you’re beautiful—the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

Theo couldn’t even say anything. He wasn’t sure who closed the gap, him, or Zachary, but their lips were on each other and it was like beautiful fire. It danced through Theo’s veins and cut off his brain. Until this point, Theo had expected kissing a boy to feel wrong, like a crime against nature, but he realized that nothing had ever felt more right. There was nothing, no guilt, no shame, no fear, just him and Zachary. Two people. Two bodies. And then—

The fire retreated, “I-I’m—” Zachary stuttered.

“Don’t be,” Theo whispered, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid the look on Zachary’s voice. _I just kissed a boy. A boy. Like a real boy. And it was the best feeling in the world._ “Please don’t be sorry.”

“I’m not sorry if you’re not.” Zachary whispered back, “ _Hyacinthus_.”

And that was the first time Zachary called him that.


	11. Chapter Eight: Amidst the Darkness

## Chapter Eight: Amidst the Darkness

“Theo!” Erelah shouted again, falling beside Zachary, and pulling Theo out of his arms. Part of him had held on, but a small voice whispered in his head, _She’s his_ parabatai _, she can heal him_. Erelah had the same idea. She pulled out her stele and immediately went to work drawing runes on his skin. Zachary watched them instantly turn white and vanish from his skin, almost like they’d never been there. Victoria was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully she’d gone to get the car, Zachary thought.

Erelah sniffled, “Oh, Zachary your face,” She said, taking his hand, “Here, let me—”

“No,” Zachary said, pulling back, “Focus on Theo, I’ll be all right.”

Erelah nodded, and went back to Marking Theo, “What happened?”

Zachary’s eyes watered, “I’m sorry Erelah,” He said, his voice came out haggardly, “Theo threw himself in front of me to protect me,”

“What kind of demon was it?” She was trying to stay calm. Zachary could hear the cracks in her facade in her voice.

“I—I have no idea. They were like car-sized spiders, with legs that could extend like spears, and giant scorpion-looking tails mounted on their backs.” He said, “And they spit acid,”

“By the Angel,” Erelah sighed, “Oh Theo, you poor, stupid idiot.”

“Theo was very brave,” Zachary felt it was important to add.

Erelah chuckled, “Yeah, Theo’s like that.”

The Toyota pulled up, and Victoria pulled herself out of the car to help Erelah walk while Zachary lifted Theo into his arms, bent back down to pick up the Silverguard Sword, and carried both of them, throwing the sword down on the floor of the backseat as he slid in with Theo. He sat with his back to the door and his legs bent so he fit across the seat and held Theo close to his chest. Theo’s skin felt like it was on fire, and panic broke through Zachary’s body.

Erelah was on the phone, “Thomas? Call the Silent Brothers, it’s Theo…” There was a brief silence, “We don’t know, things went south so quick—” Another silence. Zachary strained to hear what Thomas was saying but didn’t catch any of the words. “Just tell them to hurry,” Erelah said, the calm in her voice breaking again, “It looks bad.” She snapped her phone shut and sighed, “Victoria, if your foot is not pushing that pedal into the floor, I swear to God I—”

The car started accelerating.

“I’m sorry,” Victoria said, “I really am, but I have to ask, is Theo your ‘girlfriend?’” She lifted her hands off the steering wheel to use air quotations.

Zachary took a deep breath, “Yes and no. Things are complicated.” All things considered, it felt nice to tell someone.

Erelah spoke softly, “I didn’t even know he… liked guys.” She said, “Wow, I am literally the worst _parabatai_ ever.”

Victoria looked over, “Oh, Rae no…”

Zachary spoke up, “He wanted to tell you,” He said, “But Theo was terrified you’d love him less. That goes for all of you. Just so you know.”

Erelah leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, “My whole body feels like muddy water.”

“ _Parabatai_ thing? Or did one of those worms like bite you?”

“ _Parabatai_.” Erelah confirmed.

“Worms?” Zachary asked, looking down at Theo’s face. The car sped past a sign that said, “Welcome to Newark!” 

“A Vermithrall,” Victoria responded casually, “Lots of worms. Definitely worse than tentacles.”

Erelah nodded, “One-hundred percent. Tentacles they just grab you, worms try to crawl up you and bite your face.”

“What happened to you guys?”

“Giant spider demons with scorpion tails,” Zachary replied, “They spit acid,”

Erelah spoke next, “What burned Theo’s hand?”

Zachary had forgotten all about that, “Oh, the wall. It was like enchanted or something. The moment Theo tried to climb it, it scorched his hand.”

“Good thing we didn’t try to climb it, I guess.” Erelah said.

They drove on in silence for a while. Zachary was recognizing some billboards now; they were close to the Institute.

Erelah’s phone rang, and she hurriedly picked it up, “What? Okay—Yeah, no we’re probably five minutes away,” She glanced at Victoria, “Uh… yeah no, Vic’s doing great. We haven’t hit anything yet.” Silence, “Okay, well then we’ll be there before them, get the infirmary ready.”

The Silent Brothers weren’t there yet. Panic crept up Zachary’s throat and made him nauseous. Theo’s gonna be alright, Theo’s gonna be alright, Theo has to be alright.

“So Zachary,” Erelah said, again with the calm facade, “This you and Theo thing? Is it new? You guys just met what…two days ago?”

“Theo and I have known each other since the Dark War,” Zachary replied, “It’s kind of a long story.”

“And I’m assuming you know where Theo got his sword?” Victoria said.

“Another long story.”

Victoria nodded, “Great, we’ll have plenty to talk about then.”

Zachary shook his head, “Sorry Victoria, but I can’t tell you anything without Theo’s permission. You’re _his_ family, so gets to decide what you’re allowed to know, and uh, don’t mention any of this to Thomas, Theo’s already going to kill me when he finds out you two know,”

As if on cue, suddenly Theo groaned, and Zachary felt his body tense up. He put his hand on Theo’s hand, and shushed him, “You’re okay,” He whispered, “You’re okay.”

* * *

Theo was confused. One moment he was dying of demon poison in a warehouse in Zachary’s arms, and the next he was alone in a destroyed Alicante. The city was in ruins, the beautiful white stone buildings were smashed into nothing, the sky was blood red, and the Demon Towers had been reduced to rubble. There wasn’t a sun or a moon either, which Theo found odd.

He started walking down the street, calling out for survivors, “Hello?! Is anyone out there?!”

No response.

Theo wasn’t really sure where he was going as he walked. He just kept calling out for anyone who might be listening.

Still no response.

And then he stopped in front of him was the Silverguard’s house, the outside was familiar, but Theo had never actually been inside, just as Zachary had never been inside the Beaugrove family home. The rose bushes in the front had long since been withered, and the windows were shattered. A portion of the roof had caved in and the house looked abandoned. Theo carefully walked up the cobblestone path and tried to the door. It was either locked or rusted shut; he wasn’t sure. Slowly he turned away and headed towards the Beaugrove family home.

As he walked through the city, he only saw more destruction however, there were no bodies. No sign that anyone had ever been in Alicante for that matter—aside from the ruins. It was eerily quiet, and Theo had to hum just to keep himself sane.

Finally he stopped at the Beaugrove home, or at least where the house should’ve been. Instead, there was just a pile of rubble, the fence had been torn apart, and the lawn had been ripped up. Theo should’ve been afraid, instead he was annoyed. Now where was he supposed to go?

He looked around him, and headed for the Gard, there was no way that place could’ve been destroyed.

He wandered through the city again, following the vaguely familiar roads and looking around at what had once been the most beautiful city in the world. Every so often, he’d stop and remember a building that used to stand there. It wasn’t remorse or sadness though, instead it was more of a _Darn, what a shame that building has been demolished_ sort of feeling. Which part of Theo knew was odd. If Alicante was in ruins, something was seriously wrong, however it didn’t feel like it mattered at the moment.

Theo wasn’t surprised when he saw the first head on a pike. It stood in front of the Gard, the Shadowhunter’s face wide with horror. Theo ignored this and moved through into the actual Gard. Theo suddenly understood where the rest of the Shadowhunters had gone. They were in the Gard, and they were all dead. This still didn’t faze him. He kept moving. There weren’t any signs of a battle, just heads. So many heads Theo couldn’t focus on them all. He moved through the Gard and into the Portal room.

But there was no Portal there.

Instead, a black shape that Theo quickly realized was a body, burnt beyond any hope of recognition. Blackened, torched flesh was peeling away, revealing glimmers of the white bones underneath. The face was burned and twisted in a way that captured their last screams of pain as the flames had burned away everything about them. There was what Theo thought were remains of clothing, dangling in burnt tatters where sleeves and pant legs would be. The body was suspended in the middle of the room by four metal chains cuffed around each limb, spreading the body in a star shape, the head being the top, and each chain was tethered to a corner of the room.

Theo stared for a moment.

This is Zachary, he realized, my Zachary.

And then, all the fear and emotion that Theo _should’ve_ felt as he walked through the ruined Alicante came exploding out of him, literally taking form as a giant black shadow with hollow eyes. It gathered until it became large enough to fill the room, and kept growing, consuming everything in Alicante, everything in the world. Theo couldn’t see.

Darkness.

* * *

Victoria pushed open the door to the Institute as Zachary hurried, carrying Theo in his arms, towards Thomas was waiting by the door to the hallway, “Give him here,” Thomas said as Zachary got close. Zachary passed Theo off to Thomas and followed him into the infirmary. The infirmary looked just like what Zachary thought it would, with forest green painted walls, cots separated by dividers, cabinets lining the walls with medical supplies, just what an infirmary should be.

Victoria carried in Erelah and set her down on one of the cots, as Thomas said, “Vic, get Zachary an _iratze,_ his face looks terrible.”

Victoria nodded and pulled out her stele, “Here, gimme your arm,” She drew the rune on Zachary’s arm, and then added a rune for blood replacement afterwards, “You okay?”

Zachary nodded. The _iratze_ was already working, he could feel the spot where the demon’s leg had gashed his face open knitting itself back together. “Thank you,”

She nodded back.

“What happened?” Thomas asked as he stripped off Theo’s gear.

Rae went into a brief explanation of the events, “It was all a trap. Sylvester seemed to be working with some warlock. He led us on a chase into a warehouse where this warlock trapped us in these… _arena_ things, and demons poured out of the sky.”

“The demons Theo and I fought,” Zachary said, “They were already there, I think…” It felt like so long ago, “Theo and I were fighting, and they stepped out of the dark end of the room.”

Thomas muttered something under his breath that Zachary couldn’t hear.

“This is insane,” Thomas said, “Absolutely insane—Victoria, grab me some bandages please.”

The doors to the infirmary opened and several Silent Brothers, Shadowhunters wrapped in robes and carrying staves, stepped in. Zachary was glad he couldn’t see their faces, they were terrifying.

I am Brother Sammuel, we will do what we can for the boy, but I must ask you all leave the room.

Thomas turned to Brother Sammuel, “Thank you. It was some sort of poison, I wasn’t there— “

Brother Sammuel turned to Zachary, Erelah, and Victoria. _Do you know what poisoned him?_

Zachary shook his head, “It was a kind of demon I’d never seen or heard of before,”

Victoria and Erelah both shook their heads.

Brother Sammuel bowed his head. Very well, we will see what we can do.

Thomas ushered everyone with his hands, “Come on guys, let’s go,” Zachary could hear how much he wanted to stay in every word. They all moved into the lounge, Thomas immediately started pacing, while Victoria sat down on the couch and Erelah laid across the couch with her head in Victoria’s lap. Zachary found a seat in a chair and started chewing his nails.

“Theo’s gonna be okay,” Thomas said, “He’s tough.”

_Theo’s gonna be okay_ , Zachary repeated in his head.

* * *

Alicante was gone, and now Theo was trapped in the Institute. He’d started in his bedroom, and as he stepped through his doorway, appeared in the training room. Confused, he’d turned around, went back through the door, and found himself in the kitchen. The next door led him to Erelah’s room, the one after that led him to the Infirmary, and now he was standing in the lounge, reaching for the doors that should’ve led outside. He moved slowly, as if that’d give the doors time to realize where they were supposed to go and actually lead there. Theo’s hand wrapped around the bronze handle of the door and he slowly pulled it open—

“Theo!” Erelah screamed. Theo let go of the door handle and whirled around, “Theo!” Erelah called again.

Theo broke into a run, reaching the stairs and taking them two at a time. The stairs led to the armory—except the walls were bare, and the tables that usually bordered the room were missing. He stopped for a moment, trying to make sense of everything. He remembered Alicante, seeing Zachary’s body… but how had he got there? And—

“Theo!” Erelah screamed again. His whole body spasmed like someone was electrocuting him—or Erelah. Theo ran straight through the door of the armory and barreled into the library.

Another scream echoed through the walls, “Theo!” But it wasn’t Erelah, it was Zachary. Theo started running again, shouldering the library door open again, and appearing in the hallway of the third floor.

“Theo!” Zachary screamed. Theo turned around, searching.

“Theo!” Erelah shouted. Theo’s body turned the other way.

“Theo!” Victoria’s voice rang out. Another turn, still no trace of them.

“Theo!” Thomas’ voice was distinct among the others. Theo stopped moving and closed his eyes.

All the voices screamed at once.

“Theo!”

“Theo!”

“Theo!”

“Theo!”

Theo collapsed to his knees, curled his body inward, and pressed his hands tight against his ears. The voices were just as loud, still screaming his name.

Finally, Theo screamed with them, fell as the floor gave way underneath him.

* * *

“Zachary,” Erelah said quietly. Zachary lifted his head from his hands and set his hands in his lap. His nails were caked in dried blood from where he’d chewed them down past the bed. The anxiety in his body was like another heartbeat, thumping uncomfortably rhythmically. It made him want to throw up, cry, or scream. Maybe all three.

“Yes?”

“Theo’s doing better.” She said, her voice still quiet, “I can feel it.”

The bulk of the anxiety stayed, but if it was a physical wall, Zachary felt there’d be a significant crack radiating from its center, like a wrecking ball had smashed into it but not quite through.

“That’s good.”

“Do you love him?”

“Rae, I don’t know if—” Victoria said.

“Yes.” Zachary said.

“That’s good.” Erelah closed her eyes and hummed tunelessly. Victoria gave him a look that he took was meant to say, _Sorry about her_. He smiled, and she looked away.

“Thomas?” Zachary said. Thomas had been pacing back and forth for the last hour near the hallway.

Thomas glanced up at Zachary. His face was paler than Zachary thought possible, “You should sit down, or at least, just stand in one place.”

“I—” He sighed.

“Thomas,” Victoria said, “This won’t be like with…”

“Delilah,” Thomas finished, “I know,” He sighed again, “I know that. I just… My entire _life_ is in that room, dying from some sort of demon poison.”

Victoria moved Erelah’s head, and went directly into Thomas’ arms, Erelah followed, and Thomas wrapped his other arm around her.

“Get over here Zachary,” Victoria said, “You’re one of us now,”

“Yeah, you’re stuck with us.”

Thomas smiled brightly, brighter than Zachary had ever seen, “They’re right, Zachary, we’re all family here.”

Zachary smiled back and stood up to join them.

Victoria had made sandwiches and brought chips and drinks down from the kitchen. Zachary was hungrier than he’d thought, and when Victoria had mentioned sandwiches, his stomach rumbled. Now they were all sitting around one of the coffee tables. Thomas had finally sat down as well, and slowly picked at his sandwich, which made Zachary feel better.

The doors to the infirmary opened, and Thomas flew out of his seat, letting his plate fall from his hands mid-way and land on the table.

One of the other Silent Brothers stood with his hood pulled back, revealing his grotesque, mutilated face. His mouth and eyes were sown shut, and his face was covered in Marks, some of which Zachary hadn’t seen before.

The poison was much more potent than we originally thought. He said in their minds. However, we have managed to get the poison under control and are working to expel it from Theodore’s body. Please remain patient.

“Thank you,” Thomas said. The Silent Brother bowed his head and returned to the infirmary.

“Are they going to move him to the Silent City?” Erelah asked, looking up at Thomas.

“I don’t know Rae. I don’t know…”

* * *

Victoria hadn’t been okay since she’d caught Zachary kissing Theo. Even when Erelah told her Theo was going to die, she’d been… well, better than she was now. Now her chest ached, and her body felt like mush.

_It’s not your fault Zachary’s gay_. She told herself, but she didn’t really believe it.

_It’s not like you were even together_. That reminder hadn’t helped at all. Instead, she was reminded of Zachary crushing her against his chest last night. She had to concentrate to drag herself out of that memory.

_Theo’s literally dying, shouldn’t you be worried about him_? That just made Victoria feel guilty on top of the exhaustion from fighting the Vermithrall and the weird mush feelings about Zachary.

_Why do you even care? You’ve known him for two days._ And in those two days, Zachary had proven he was the literal perfect human being. He was tall, and hot—really hot. Smart and sweet. He was protective and caring. He was literally everything. And between everything that had happened in the last two days, it felt like Zachary had been with them for weeks, months even.

This is stupid.

“Yeah,” Erelah said. Victoria flushed, not realizing she’d spoken aloud. She scrambled for words, “I-I wish we could be in there with Theo.”

She stroked Erelah’s hair, “Yeah, me too.” Victoria realized now that she _was_ worried about Theo. Extremely worried. If Theo wasn’t okay and… didn’t make it, what would that mean for Rae? How could Victoria ever make that okay for her? She wondered if this was what it felt like to have siblings. She’d never really wanted siblings when she was younger, but she would’ve liked them if they were like Rae and Theo. For a moment she imagined a small boy, with icy blue eyes like her mother’s, and nice tan skin like her dad. She imagined Erelah, Theo, and her playing tag with him like they used to do with each other.

_If only_. She thought. _If only_.

Her head perked up as one of the Silent Brothers came out of the infirmary. It was Brother Sammuel, he’d been the one who performed Theo and Erelah’s _parabatai_ ceremony. And he still looked as creepy as he did back then.

Theodore is stable, I will stay and watch over his condition, but you are all allowed to see him now.

Thomas jumped up again, and half-ran over to the infirmary, Zachary and Erelah followed, but Victoria hung back.

“Vic,” Erelah said, “Are you coming?”

Victoria shook her head, “Uh, no, I’ll wait out here, it’s probably best not to crowd him.”

Erelah gave her a sorrowful look and then followed after Zachary.

* * *

Theo wasn’t in the Institute anymore. He was in Alicante again. Theo was starting to get whiplash from the changes in scenery. He looked around him. Alicante wasn’t destroyed, not this time. Everything was just as it was supposed to be. He was in Angel Square, the statue of Raziel standing gallantly in the center. Shadowhunters were out and about, just like they were supposed to be.

“Theo!” Zachary called, jogging up to him through the crowd. Theo immediately noticed he didn’t have any Marks—wait no, there were a few of them. He stared at the Marks that were still there. _Wait, I put those there._ Theo realized. The rune to keep Zachary warm was settled on his forearm, shining black like it’d been freshly applied. But Theo knew that rune had been used up a long time ago. There was an _iratze_ on his neck—Theo had put that there during the Dark War, when they were locked outside the Hall of Accords. An endurance rune was placed on the back of his hand. The runes Theo had given him were all temporary, they’d should’ve vanished a long time ago, leaving small white patches as reminders there’d been a Mark there.

“Hey,” Zachary said, smiling at him. He cupped his face, “You weren’t enough for me. And you never will be.” His voice was smooth, he could’ve easily been saying, “how was your day” or “I’ve missed you,”

Theo blinked. The words stung worse than the demon poison… wait, when had Theo been poisoned? He couldn’t remember.

“There was always someone else,” Zachary said, his voice still sweet, “And everything you thought we had was fake. I never wanted you, I never cared about you. You were my second choice.”

Theo took a step back.

“I mean,” Zachary said, taking a step forward, “Really, what did you think, Theo? That you and I were just going to live a magic princess dream and ride off into the sunset while _And they lived happily ever after_ appears on the screen?” Theo wished Zachary’s tone was malicious. Instead it was still coming as loving, the way Erelah talked to him sometimes.

Zachary laughed.

“By the Angel, you’re just stupid, aren’t you?”

Theo wanted to tell him to stop.

Hands grabbed his arms and began dragging him along.

“Theo,” Zachary continued, “It’s time to come to your senses,” Zachary smiled, “There’s no place for someone _like you_ in our society. I mean, truly, being _gay_ , you might as well sleep with demons. They’re the only people who ever _might_ accept you. And even then, they probably won’t.”

There were people shouting now, they laid Theo across what felt like a wooden beam; he wasn’t sure, he couldn’t take his eyes off Zachary. They spread his arms out and someone shouted, “ _Nail!”_

“Theo… Oh Theo,” Zachary continued, “Don’t worry. We’re going to fix you.”

Erelah stepped into Theo’s view and she smiled at Zachary before turning to him, “It’s okay, Theo. When you’re better, we can go back to being _parabatai_.”

Something sharp pierced his hand. _Bang_. It drove itself deeper into Theo’s skin. _Bang._ Again, deeper. _Bang._ Deeper. _Bang_. Deeper.

Then his other hand. _Bang._ Deeper. _Bang_. Deeper. _Bang._ Deeper.

Then his foot. _Bang._ Deeper. _Bang._ Deeper.

His other foot. _Bang._ Deeper.

Theo closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was nailed to a cross. For all in Angel Square to see. Erelah and Zachary stood in front of him, Victoria and Thomas standing just behind them. “Theo, you have a visitor!” Zachary called up to him, his voice still kind.

Theo looked up into the eyes of the statue of Raziel and watched as they flooded with golden light and the Angel stepped off the platform, taking hold of the Mortal Sword and Cup, and stepped towards him. A godly voice echoed throughout the square. _Theodore Beaugrove, for crimes against humanity, I sentence you to death._

And the Angel plunged the sword into his chest.

* * *

Three days. It’d been three days since Zachary carried Theo into the Institute. Three days since the demon attack. Three days since the kiss. Three days since everything in Zachary’s body started screaming.

Zachary was sitting on a stool beside Theo, watching him sleep. He wondered if Theo was dreaming, and if so, what about? Zachary felt like he hadn’t slept in ages, every time he tried, every time he closed his eyes, he was back in the warehouse, feeling Theo’s entire body give out in his arms, and his own body was screaming out because it knew something was wrong. He’d been running on fumes and wakefulness runes.

Erelah, Victoria, and Thomas were out on patrol. Zachary was supposed to go with Erelah and Victoria, and leave Thomas here for Theo, but Victoria and Erelah had convinced Thomas that going out would help him, and then as they left Erelah whispered to him, “ _Be with him.”_

Victoria, however, had been avoiding him, and though he was pretty sure he knew why, he didn’t like it. Even after telling her he had a girlfriend, she hadn’t been distant, but since she’d found out that the _girlfriend_ was actually a _boyfriend_ , she’d avoided him. It was a subtle avoidance either. She’d walk straight out of rooms when he walked in. She ignored him when he spoke.

It made him sad. Sad for Theo, who he knew would be devastated when he woke up.

Zachary looked at Theo again. He truly was beautiful. The shape of his lips, his thick brown eyebrows, the bridge of his nose, it was a perfect collage of attributes that wouldn’t suit anyone but Theo. His chest was showing. The blanket they’d draped over him only went up to where the bandage that wrapped around his torso was. His skin was flawless, smooth, and hairless. Zachary remembered their last kiss—the one before the warehouse, in an alley of Alicante. Zachary was walking Theo back to the Beaugrove family home. They were laughing about something, Zachary couldn’t remember about what, when Theo slipped his hand into Zachary’s and dragged him into an alleyway. He remembered the way Theo cupped the back of his neck and leaned up the tips of his toes to reach Zachary’s lips. He remembered feeling the fire in his veins and the explosions of bliss where Theo’s skin touched his. He remembered Theo’s mouth opening just a little against his, inviting him in—

Theo made a noise that pulled Zachary out of the memory.

He took Theo’s hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb.

Come back to me, Theo. Not for Erelah, not for Victoria, or Thomas. Come back for me. Please. I love you and I’m waiting. 

* * *

Theo wasn’t sure where he was anymore. He didn’t even want to open his eyes. Every time he opened his eyes, some terrifying new scenario played out. He’d watched everyone around him die, reduced to ashes. He’d watched himself die more times than he could count. He’d watched the world burn and the sky fall.

But the worse was always Zachary.

Every time death came for Zachary, Theo could feel it like a tug in his tug, and he’d squeeze his eyes shut. It never helped. They always found their way open again, and every time Zachary died, he called out to Theo: “Why didn’t you save me?”

Theo’s eyes found their way open. He was in the warehouse. It stretched out for what looked like miles in the darkness. Theo was dressed in gear, his sword at his hip. Cautiously, he reached out to touch the hilt, afraid it’d shatter and release a demon that swallowed him again. Nothing happened. He firmly grasped the hilt and pulled the sword free of its sheath.

It glowed in the darkness, a bright yellow light in the darkness. Theo held it above his head as he walked down the length of the warehouse. There was a sound coming from further in, but he couldn’t make it out. As he walked, the warehouse seemed to stretch on and on, Theo felt like he was walking for hours.

Then, like a slinkie, the edge of the warehouse snapped back into place, and he was standing at the wall. An escalating hiss sounded behind him. Slowly, he turned around.

The spider demon’s tail was already reared up, and as soon as Theo saw it, the demon struck him in the heart and—

Theo sat straight up. Someone was holding his hand. He turned to face them.

“Theo,” Zachary said breathlessly, his eyes wider than Theo would’ve thought possible, “You’re awake.”

**— End of Part One —**   
  


**Chapters 9-? coming soon.**


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